In the Beginning
by CarverEdlundtheLast
Summary: "These words, these walls, they are not the past just because that is where they came from. They hold much more than that. Words breach walls which nothing else can." Five elflings, a Prophecy, a prince, a wizard, and the resulting quest.
1. Prologue: The End of the Beginning

**A/N: Hi! My sister are working on this together, and this is actually based off of two different stories that we wrote. We decided to combine them and see what happened. This should be canon with The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, but maybe not The Silmarillion. It takes place for the most part in the Woodland Realm in the years between the Battle of Five Armies and the War of the Ring. Also, this follows the book plot, so Legolas stayed in Mirkwood after the battle. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: We don't own Middle Earth. Quite the opposite, in fact. :)**

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Prologue

The End of the Beginning

What marks the end of a certain Halfling's adventure marks the beginning of another. It began, well, it began as you might expect; in the beginning. And in the beginning there was fire. Now, this is only the beginning of the beginning, and the story to be told today begins in the end of the beginning, far away from the Shire or Bree, or any other dwellings of that sort.

As you might recall, there were no hobbits to be found far from these places, nor, indeed, just miles away. Thus, this story is not of hobbits, although it does concern them in its own way. You see, this story's beginning actually begins quite a while before the actual events of this story take place. But for now, we'll begin from the end of the beginning, and soon go over it from beginning to end.

It _started_ , though it _began_ earlier, 10 years before the Battle of Five Armies took place. It has, admittedly, a bit of a sad beginning, but don't all great stories? Truthfully, the concept of "happily ever after" is a flawed one, anyway. In the end, all that is left is goodbye. But do not concern yourself with this, as the end is yet to come.

This piece of information is little known, even among the wise, but the elves of the woodland realm were not completely untouched by the orcs in the years leading up to the Battle of Five Armies. In truth, no one was. Yet still the world spins on.

Though the guarded walls were impassable by any who were foes to their kingdom, the Elves spent too much time guarding the walls to look at what lay beyond them. This proved to be a fatal mistake.

And so it was that the Woodland Realm burned auburn against the fading light, a fire started in the heart of the kingdom by a race not often seen since the time of Haldir. A fire started by the Tunnelers. Yet again unknown by many, they did not leave empty-handed. They left with a relic of the past that was the hope of tomorrow, a single object powerful enough to change the fate of any who knew of it. No, they did not leave empty-handed.

And yet no one knew. There was one being present that fateful night that understood what had truly been lost. And it was not often that he came to call. Yet still the others were aware that they had lost something, whether it be the battle or the lives, and they felt it. One can never lose so much as to no longer feel it. Yet one can never lose so little that they don't know the feeling. But such is the way of the world.

Although not many structures were touched by the fire, still many more lives were lost. Among the few survivors was a young girl, around two years of age. She was found among the ruins by the Prince, covered in ash. The girl had messy light brown hair uncommon for an elf, and hazel eyes that became so recognizable to those whom she met over the years. She didn't speak, and gave them nothing to call her by, so the healers took to calling her Ashling. And those who met her did not often forget her.

Those who took the time to get to know the girl with light in her eyes and fire in her history soon took to calling her Ash, and she adopted the nickname when she was old enough to need it. She learned to love that name, as did those closest to her. She saw it in the fading embers of fire, in the book that told of that day so long ago. And she felt it in memories.

She grew up in the Woodland Realm. She grew up running barefoot through the forest with her friends, not particularly caring about the crown or the King, because she knew the places the kingdom could never touch, she and her closest friends shared the memories that the crown could never taint. They would stand on the edge of cliffs just to know that there would always be something to wonder about, somewhere to wander. She remembered sneaking around the castle at night just to say they didn't get caught. So yes, she grew up in the Woodland Realm. But most of the time exactly where they were was as far from their minds as the future.

She was raised by the friends she grew up with, chasing fireflies on summer nights, standing in the forest just to feel the rain on their skin, dancing to no music in particular under the stars. She was raised by friends that over time became family. This is where their story begins.

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 **A/N: Thanks for reading! The actual chapters should be _a lot_ longer, and you'll get to know the characters more. They should be about 14 years old in the actual story, this was just a little bit of background information. The first chapter should be posted by the end of the week, and probably sooner rather than later. Please review! This is our first Hobbit fan fiction, (Only second fan fiction ever) and trying to follow in Tolkien's footsteps is hard, to say the least, so it's always nice to get feedback, whether it's positive or negative. Thanks! :)**

 **Until the very end,**

 **CarverEdlundtheLast**


	2. The Great Escape

**A/N: Thanks to anyone who read the last chapter! We're kind of trying something new with our first Hobbit fan fiction, so it really means a lot to know people are reading. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions, feel free to PM us, or please leave a review. We really appreciate the feedback. The story will probably switch off from different character's perspectives in the later chapters, but for now it'll probably be a mix of all of them. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: Not J.R.R. Tolkien… Enough said.**

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Chapter One

The Great Escape

The sun had almost fully risen by the time they arrived at the dungeons. The early light cast dim shadows against the building, turning the stone dark. Ash sighed, bracing herself before stepping inside. She still had poor memories of the place, and didn't relish the thought of watching Silan laugh again as he bailed her out. She was still convinced that she could have escaped, at least given time and a particularly gullible guard, but seeing as none of her sentences had been over a day, it was hardly worth it.

The two elves walked on, occasionally being addressed by a familiar face on guard duty, in which case Silan would give a friendly nod, and Ash her best attempt at an innocent smile. It was almost enough to alarm a few of the guards.

The first thing that they noticed coming from the prisons were voices, surprisingly lighthearted considering their situation.

"- throw the rock!"

"But what if the guards don't fall for it?"

"Then we cut off your limbs 'till you fit through the bars."

"...I'll throw the rock."

Ash and Silan shook their heads, laughing. Only Kiron and Koran. When they reached the cell that the voices were coming from, the sight they were met with was half of Kiron's torso stuck between two of the bars, while his older brother attempted to pull him out. Or push him through, Ash couldn't tell. Either way, it wasn't working. Evidently the guards hadn't fallen for the rock.

There was much cursing involved, along with a crowbar, but between the four Elves, Kiron was eventually freed. Getting them out of the cell was another matter. They were caught in the act of attempting to wrench open the door by a very concerned looking guard, who fortunately knew them all too well.

"Having difficulties, are we?" He asked.

Ash smiled sweetly at the guard. "Yes, Sir, this door won't open."

The guard laughed. "And why would you need it open? Did it ever occur to you that the cells lock for a reason?"

Ash shook her head. "Other than being inconvenient during prison breaks?"

The guard, once again, only laughed. "You do know their sentence doesn't end until tomorrow morning, correct?"

Kiron grinned. "They wouldn't be here if they didn't, would they?"

It was at that point in the conversation that Silan took over. "They are pardoned for… whatever it is they did this time."

"That would be putting a fish in the Prince's chambers."

Silan tried to hide a smile. "Did it work?"

"You tell me. It was in your chambers," The guard responded, smirking.

"Wait, but.. Hey!" Silan protested. "I'm bailing you out of jail for putting a fish in my room?"

Koran shrugged. "It was on sale."

Ash laughed, partly hoping no one had taken the fish out. "I love how the first thing you think of when you see a fish for a low price isn't a good meal – it's a good laugh." She said, shaking her head.

Kiron grinned. "I'm sorry, what? You love us?" Ash rolled her eyes, while everyone else laughed.

"I love your lack of sanity," She corrected.

Silan raised an eyebrow. "Only because they're the only people you know who are more lacking in it than yourself."

Ash shrugged. "I never said anything different."

"Well you wouldn't," Koran joked.

"I never would," Ash assured them sarcastically.

Kiran gave an exaggerated sigh. "I guess I'll just die in a prison cell, while the three of you discuss Ash's sanity, or rather her lack of it." The three Elves laughed as the guard reluctantly handed over the key. "So much for starting a prison riot." Kiron muttered to his brother as they walked out.

"Ah, never mind that. Let's see about getting our weapons back… If Argot didn't quit after that little stunt last week, we're going to need them."

 **. . .**

They managed to slip into the classroom unnoticed, but that wasn't to say that they weren't in trouble. "That little stunt last week" had actually involved accusing their teacher, Professor Argot, of murder, something which he wasn't extremely grateful for. They had very nearly gotten him into the dungeons, too, before an Elf that knew the four of them had intervened and managed to prove that they just wanted to get out of class. Well, Koran had forgotten to do his essay, so they had meant to get just him out of class, but it was close enough.

Unfortunately for them, Argot was extremely good at holding grudges. He was also not overly forgiving, even when it came to minor infractions. Needless to say, he wasn't likely to let something like this slide.

They were in the process of sneaking into the classroom through a window (rather successfully) when the door opened.

They froze. The rest of the class was staring at them as well, some amused and some annoyed. Ash had to try very hard not to smile. It was at that moment that the Prince walked in. The _real_ prince. The older prince. Silan gave him a nervous smile.

"Hey, Legolas..."

Koran and Kiron did the best they could to hide their faces, while Ash tried to slip under the desk, having finally climbed in. Silan glanced at his brother nervously. It was Ash who eventually spoke, although she did not move from her position under the desk. "We were just... Demonstrating the proper exit for an emergency evacuation... Right, guys?"

Koran and Kiron nodded quickly, while Silan just shook his head. "Not your best excuse," Silan whispered to Ash, who glared in return.

The classroom was in a relative estate of shock, save the four who were, at that moment, attempting to look as innocent as possible.

It was along time before anyone was able to figure out exactly what Legolas was there for. Koran was the first to come to this point, although his guess was not the most accurate. "You're here about the Orc hunt, aren't you?" Koran asked, while the other three looked around nervously at the mention of it. Koran was met with a strange look.

"What about the Orc hunt?"

They looked at each other, a bit panicked. "Nothing." Kiron responded quickly, albeit a bit too quickly. The Prince just shook his head, probably not wanting to push it at that moment, something for which they were all extremely thankful for.

"I am not here about whatever it is you managed to do during the last Orc hunt, although now that you mention it, it might be looked into further later on... I am actually here to inquire as to how many of you feel as though you would benefit from starting combat training earlier in the year than is usually practiced."

Ash, Kiron, Koran, and Silan all raised their hands faster than anyone else in their year, nearly jumping out of their chairs (which they had all made their way back to by that point) in eagerness.

Truth be told, about half of the eagerness was due to the fact that combat training would get them out of school for a couple hours a day, however that wasn't to say that they weren't eager to learn to fight properly. The incident with the said Orc hunt had actually consisted of them sneaking out in the middle of the night to join some of the warriors on a hunt, chasing a number of Orcs off of the borders of their land. They all already knew a fair amount about fighting, although they had learned it the hard way, but figured that they couldn't learn everything there was to know by sneaking along and picking up the skills they needed to stay alive. That probably wasn't a particularly good habit to get into.

And so for about a minute, Professor Argot's classroom looked like a normal classroom. Then again, nothing lasts forever.

"There's a bloody bat in my desk!" Ash shrieked after almost thirty minutes of behaving for once.

Her immediate reaction was to grab her bow. And it wasn't for the bat. No, it was for the two brothers sitting in the back of the classroom with their heads down, laughing at said bat, until it started flying around.

Five minutes later, half of the class was hiding under the desks, while the remainder stood on top of the chairs, swinging rulers or books at the offending bat. Ash, Kiron, Koran, and Silan had long abandoned the task of trying to get it back outside through the window, as they doubted anything could get through that chaos. It was at that point that Legolas chose to leave, hiding a smile as he opened the door. The first lesson with that class was certainly going to be... interesting, to say the least, even if he would prefer it not be under these circumstances.

 **. . .**

The four of them stood in the forest, laughing. Their lessons shouldn't have been over yet; however, due to the chaos of that morning, they had managed to sneak out unnoticed, relatively the same way they had gotten in. Which was to say through the window. They doubted they would be missed much, anyway, as it was not likely that there would be much time for actual lessons by the time everything had been sorted out. Kiron and Koran were still adamant that they had nothing to do with it, but Ash knew better. Probably anybody who had ever heard of them knew better.

Ash was dangling from the branches of an old oak tree, Silan sprawled out in the branches below her. Kiron and Koran sat by a stream holding a leather-bound book, scheming.

"Well, I should say that went pretty well, wouldn't you?" Kiron called up to them, grinning.

Silan groaned. "I'm fairly sure my brother now thinks that I'm insane.

Ash grinned. "Well, he'd be right."

Silan nodded sarcastically. "That must be why I put up with you lot."

Koran didn't bother to look up. "It is. Anyway, what's the newest objective, seeing as 'start a prison riot' ididn't go so well?" He held up a book. It had yellowing pages, and the cover was beaten from years of being carelessly shoved into bags.

Scrawled on the inside cover were the words _Kwentra I'narnea_. Ash smiled, remembering the day they had named it. They all remembered filling in the first blank pages, plotting long into the night. Admittedly, it was rather childish, but they weren't ones to break tradition.

They all brainstormed, thinking about how to fill the next blank page. "Hmmm... We could... No, already done that."

Koran's eyes lit up. "How about we... Oh. Never mind, we did it last year."

"Let's just... Oh! I have an idea!" Ash grinned.

Kiron and Koran waited with devious glints in their eyes, while Silan gave her a wary look.

"Let's break into the Hall of Stone," She said with an expectant grin.

Kiron and Koran both sported demonic grins. "The Hall of Stone... That could be interesting. Very interesting."

Silan raised an eyebrow. "Maybe a little too interesting, considering you two just got out of jail. This time if we get caught, I'll be with you. Meaning you'll have no one to break- I mean _bail_ you out."

Kiron shrugged, grinning. "The food there's good enough. You get used to it eventually."

Silan glared at Ash. "This is what your ideas get me into."

Ash smiled. "So you coming or not?"

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 **A/N: In case any of you were wondering, the title of the book they were holding translates to "Tell the Tales", and it's pretty much a book where they write dares for each other, and then give a description of how it ended. Anyway, they keep it like a sort of testimony to all the trouble they've caused. We promise the next chapter will introduce the plot, since this was a little bit of a filler, but we hope you liked it. Thanks!**

 **Until the very end,**

 **CarverEdlundtheLast**


	3. Halls of Stone

**A/N: Thanks so much to anyone who read, and a shout out to ChinaxJapan101, Crazygirl8243, Tar-Ancalimae, and Jayjay0851 for following/favoriting. It means a lot to know that people are actually enjoying this, and, believe it or not, motivates us to write more often. :)** **Anyway, please don't be too critical of the rhymes in this chapter. Hope you like it!**

 **Disclaimer: We don't own The Hobbit. Unfortunately. :)**

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Chapter Two

Halls of Stone

The sun hung low in the sky by the time they reached the ruins. They stood by what was probably a gatehouse a long time ago, watching as the sky was engulfed in the fire of dusk. The stone walls that had once stood taller than any others in their time were now crumbling, fading to the background of a newer world as time stripped it of its beauty. And so four elflings stood, lonely figures outside the Hall of Stone.

"C'mon, help me get over the wall." Koran's voice cut through the cold silence.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Silan asked, shaking his head.

"Well... We could... I don't know, none of us thought we'd get this far," Kiron admitted with a shrug.

Koran pouted. "Well, there has to be some way. What if we just sort of hoisted each other over?" he proposed.

"That is... A terrible idea." Silan sighed.

Ash clasped her hands for Koran. "What?" She asked in response to Silan's exasperated sigh. "It's not like you have a better idea."

It took approximately twenty minutes, seven bruises, and eleven arguments, but they all eventually managed to clamber over.

Inside of the gates, it looked as if time had not left as much of a mark. Stone pillars were beaten and worn, however for the most part still standing. The entrance to a small marble crypt was in the center, lonely in the valley of stone around it. After much debate (which involved Kiron and Koran threatening to throw Silan back over the wall), they finally managed to get it open.

At first glance, the inside revealed nothing. And then they, meaning Kiron and Koran, decided that it would be a good idea to investigate further. Since it was mostly ruins by that time, there was hardly anyone there to guard it, but the fact that there was always one single soldier guarding it was part of the reason it had aroused their suspicions. And so it was that they were to stay the entire night there and see what happened. As Ash had pointed out for the initial persuasion that it took to get Silan to agree, as long as they didn't get caught, nothing bad could come of it. Then again, maybe that wasn't the best thing to say...

It was at that point that their troubles began, although they weren't of the same opinion at that time.

On the stone walls of the crypt were runes, etched into them with careful precision. They were everywhere, too. Every inch of space was covered with a different rhyme, some known by them, others that they had never heard of. Koran caught sight of one that he had heard as a child, and had to smile as he remembered marching around a classroom with Kiron chanting the old rhyme.

 _Who will follow, who will lead  
Who steps forward in great need  
Who will fill the footsteps left  
Carry what is theirs to heft_

It was one in the very corner of the room that caught their eyes, however. There was really nothing about it that should have been conspicuous, however all of them found themselves making their way toward it. The writing was one that they had never seen before. They had never even heard of the events it talked about. They held a candle up to the wall, and in the dim light read:

 _Seek the blade that time forgot  
Darkness falls and light is sought  
Hope flares faintly, come the night  
None but Darkness see the light_

 _Footsteps fail, and darkness falls  
Shadows part and fire calls  
With lost legends flames return  
In the night the stars shall burn_

They had certainly never heard that one before, as Kiron and Koran probably would have used the quest as an excuse for being late to class... They'd tried everything by that point. It was a pretty rhyme, but cryptic. It made them wonder exactly who had carved those ancient words into the stone so long ago, and, as was seemingly more important, why.

"Ever heard that one?" Kiron asked Ash, who just shrugged.

"Not that I can remember, but I'm not exactly the best person to ask, seeing as I sleep through all of our classes," Ash shrugged.

"We know," Koran deadpanned.

They were all laughing as they turned to leave. Kiron and Koran raced to the door, which had very negative consequences, considering the fact that it had closed behind them. Ash made to open the door as Silan and Koran attempted to help Kiron, who was faking a very dramatic death, up off the ground. They had succeeded in getting him up when Koran almost ran into the door again. He made a face at Ash.

"I would've thought you knew how to open a door. Or is that just prison cells?"

Ash responded with a reasonably annoyed expression. "...It's locked."

 **. . .**

They were spread out on the stone floor, Ash and Silan with their backs to the door after many failed attempts to get it to open, Kiron and Koran sprawled out creating their wills and giving Ash and Silan instructions as to what they would like to be said in their eulogies.

"-And I want it to say how great I was at starting prison riots, and how I always wished I was an only child-"

Kiron cut his older brother off. "Hey!"

"-and how I always liked Legolas more than Silan-"

"Hey!"

"And how I always thought Ash was going to be the first of us to die-"

"Is this a eulogy or a confession?" Ash asked.

Koran shrugged helplessly. "We're going to die here, so why can't it be both?"

Ash laughed. "Quit being dramatic. We may not get out tonight, but let's face it, we've been in worse situations."

Silan nodded with a laugh. "Like the time we were hiding in the closet of the throne room for four hours, until the Council finally left."

"Or when we got stuck on the roof of the palace," Kiron added.

"Or when Legolas walked in while we were sneaking into class, then a bat started flying around the classroom, we snuck out, and then... Oh, that's right we got stuck in a bloody crypt!" Kiron glared at Ash.

"It's not my fault!" Ash defended.

"You're the one who had the genius idea to spend the night here!"

"And you're the idiots that agreed to it! You guys are supposed to talk me out of things like this, not support me wholeheartedly!" Ash protested.

Silan raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, because that's what friends are for."

Koran shrugged. "It kind of is..."

"Only when at least one of the friends is fully sane, which, in case you hadn't noticed, none of us are," Koran pointed out.

Ash tilted her head to the side, looking at them. "I think Silan's _almost_ fully sane..."

"Then isn't it technically his fault that he couldn't talk us out of it?" Koran asked thoughtfully with a grin.

"What? No! And I tried to stop you!"

Ash grinned. "Yeah, to be fair, we did kind of threaten him."

"Kind of?" Silan demanded.

"Okay, we threatened you. You should be used to it." Kiron admitted with a laugh.

"I think I am, in a way," he conceded.

"And that's why you're still not fully sane." Koran finished. For once, no one argued.

 **. . .**

A sliver of burning light crept through the small space between the door and the floor. The sun rose in the world outside and theirs remained shrouded in darkness. The candle that they had brought the night before had been reduced to a pile of wax on the cold ground, and there were no windows to let in the dawn.

"Anybody have a candle?"Ash asked, not for the first time.

"Scared of the dark?" Koran teased.

"Scared of what you're doing over there." Ash retorted, squinting to see through the blanket of darkness that shielded them.

"Fair enough."

"So what _are_ you doing over there?" Ash asked again.

"Just because you're right to be concerned doesn't mean I'm telling you." Koran laughed. "What'd be the fun in that?"

Silan shook his head as he heard a small crash come from the corner where Kiron and Koran were sitting, leading to more (considerably more forceful) questioning. It was a while before anyone spoke after the initial interrogation was done.

"Should we try yelling again?" Silan asked, breaking the silence that had been suspended in the air.

"I doubt anyone would hear it." Koran pointed out. In truth, they all knew he was right, but still had hoarse voices before the hour ended. They were no closer to finding a way out.

"Do you think we could find a way to break down the door?" Ash asked in a whisper, her throat not quite recovered from the yelling by that point.

"With what? We have nothing to work with," Silan pointed out.

"We could use Kiron as a battering ram," Koran suggested. "It's how we get out of prison half the time."

"This is worse than prison," Kiron complained.

"And you would certainly know." Silan gave a rueful laugh.

"Well, what if we tried-" Ash was interrupted by a loud crash from outside the crypt.

They all spoke at the same time.

"Is there..."

"There's someone out there!"

"Try to get their attention!"

"FREEDOM!"

All of their yells were drowned out by another noise, this one shaking the foundation of the stone.

"Wait, is this going-"

Silan never got the chance to finish. There was a deafening crash as the door in front of them flew backwards, sending the four of them flying at the wall. Dust rose from the wreckage of the doorway, and rubble littered the area around them. And standing in the ruins was a Wizard.

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 **A/N: Thanks so much for reading! Since the plot has (sort of) been introduced, the next chapter should be everything leading up to the quest. Anyway, thanks for reading, and we hope to have the next chapter posted soon. Thanks!**

 **Until the very end,**

 **CarverEdlundtheLast**


	4. The Unexpected

**A/N: Thank you to anyone who's still reading this story, especially jayjay0851, justcallmek, ChinaxJapan101, Crazygirl8243, and Tar-Ancalimae for following/favoriting. Thanks so much to jayjay0851 for leaving a review, because it's really nice to not only know that people are enjoying it, but also know what exactly you like so far, and how we can improve. Anyway, the plot was introduced a little bit in the last chapter, but it'll be a bigger part in this one. Hope you like it! :)**

 **PS: To those of you who don't know, Gandalf is sometimes called Mithrandir by the Elves. Just thought that might be helpful to know...**

 **Disclaimer: We're running out of creative ways to say we don't own The Hobbit... So, yeah. Don't own. Nothing new. :)**

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Chapter Three

The Unexpected

Dust spiraled upwards into the sky, and danced among the ruins where they stood. The sun had risen while they were locked inside of the crypt, and shadows loomed ahead. A Wizard stood in front of them.

Their first reaction had been to point fingers. Wasn't that what friends did when cornered?

Ash blamed Silan, Silan blamed Kiron, Kiron blamed Koran, and Koran blamed Ash. The Wizard only laughed, or something that they assumed was supposed to be a laugh, as it sounded a bit threatening to four children who had never seen a Wizard before in their lives, no less this particular Wizard. They, of course, hadn't the faintest idea who it was at the time, however probably would have been able to guess, had they been thinking, rather than openly staring. The Wizard spoke after quite a few minutes of silence.

"Well, I must say, I was told to expect the unexpected, however I was most certainly not expecting this." He said, to which the four shocked children gave no response for a long while. When Ash finally spoke, it was with a puzzled expression.

"But, if you were expecting the unexpected, wouldn't that make the expected... _un_ expected?"

The Wizard gave her a strange look, as if debating whether or not he should respond. "Yes, if you expect the unexpected, then it becomes the expected, therefore travel henceforth with no expectations, except what you know to expect."

Ash had to run this through her head quite a few times before responding, just to be sure she understood the meaning. "I tend to try my best to stray away from expectations of any sort."

The Wizard seemed to be happy enough with this answer. Kiron, on the other hand, was not.

"You know, you both could've just said that this is an extremely strange situation."

Ash shrugged, and grinned. "The wise speak in riddles."

"Well if the wise always speak in riddles, than I could pass up a lifetime of knowledge." Kiron said, rolling his eyes.

Silan laughed. "That... actually explains a lot."

Kiron responded in what he considered to be the mature way; He stuck his tongue out at Silan. The Wizard watched with minimal interest, more seeing them than actually watching them, if that was possible. When he spoke it was abruptly, startling the already nervous Elves.

"Did you happen to come across a peculiar rhyme while locked in here?"

Koran laughed. "One? No. We found many, many strange rhymes while locked in here. In case it wasn't obvious, we had nothing better to do."

The Wizard huffed, clearly exasperated. "Might there have been one which stood out more than the others?" He pressed.

Silan exchanged a glance with the others, not entirely sure that the Wizard could be trusted. Then again, he'd gotten them out of the crypt, which had to count for something, even if it hadn't exactly been the original intention. Silan sighed, trying to forget everything he'd heard about Wizards from his father. And that was quite a bit.

"If we're to tell you what you came to hear, you can tell us your name, or what you go by among Elves, at the very least," he conceded.

The Wizard gave Silan a strange look as well, and heaved a long sigh. Silan swore he heard him mutter something about children being worse then Dwarves, which wasn't even remotely a compliment in the Woodland Realm.

"It's merely common courtesy. I suppose you may have forgotten in your old age." Kiron said, feigning innocence, though there was a devious glint in his eyes. Silan banged his head against the wall, Ash groaned, and Koran looked as if he couldn't be prouder of his little brother. Kiron's comment could only mean on thing. They had found the next topic in their book.

Silan could see it now, written in barely legible handwriting, scrawled into the leather-bound book; " _Number Fifty Seven: Anger a Wizard_ ".

This wouldn't end well.

 **. . .**

Kiron's statement, as was to be expected, didn't have extremely positive consequences. Nor did any other comments from the four of them that followed. Quite the opposite, in fact... To shorten an otherwise quite long and tedious story, they had successfully angered a Wizard.

It hadn't been nearly so bad as they had initially thought it would be, however the task still wasn't recommended for the faint of heart.

Presumably one of the sole reasons they were still alive was that the Wizard had found them entertaining, although they were unaware. Yes, the Wizard had found them entertaining, indeed. They reminded him of someone, or, rather, many someones whom he had once known. The two brothers in particular...

Despite the rude nature of it, the questioning actually had gotten them somewhere, somehow. Though they weren't altogether thrilled upon discovering the identity of the Wizard, to look at the bright side, they had to be some of the first Elves in history to anger the great Mithrandir. For that, they were just a bit proud. Mutually, Mithrandir had gained information from them on the rhyme's whereabouts. There was, once again, much questioning from the four of them as to why exactly the Wizard had gone all that way for what appeared to be a nursery rhyme.

Much later on, the Wizard would be wishing that they had never asked, that he had never answered. Yet he did. Never is the thought of danger so elusive as it is when you are walking right into its arms.

The four children hadn't put much time or thought into finding who had created the crypt, who had brought the words that dwelled there to life so long ago. They didn't often think of the words the future held, only of how they would come to be. They understood neither the importance nor the significance of the words which they had stumbled upon the previous night, but they had not found them without reason. No one did. And Silan asked why the great wizard that stood before them had traveled so far for stories of a time that could no longer even be remembered. And every single Elf present watched the Wizard with wide, waiting eyes, searching for an answer.

And so Mithrandir did something which he not often did. He answered.

"There is more power in a single word from long ago, a short verse from a forgotten time, than can ever be told. More than you can ever understand. These words, these walls, they are not the past just because that is where they came from. They hold much more than that. Words breach walls which nothing else can. They are not stories from long ago, yet they are from a time not known. And so you ask must ask yourself; Why is it that all great stories have come to pass? To be truthful, they haven't."

Ash tilted her head to the side. "Are you saying that these are prophecies?"

"I said no such thing." Mithrandir turned towards the door.

"But... are they?" Silan asked eagerly.

"Preposterous." The Wizard began to walk out, having gotten what he came for.

"What is? The rhymes being prophecies or the rhymes not being prophecies?" Kiron questioned.

"Yes."

"What kind of answer-"

"The pleasure was all mine." By that point, he had already reached his horse.

"Wait, but you never-"

"I don't expect we'll meet again." With that, he was gone, leaving four extremely flustered Elf children in his wake.

"Well... That was... Interesting." Silan said, watching the figure disappear into the horizon.

Koran grinned, looking at his brother. "Yeah. Wait 'till we tell Aneare that we met a Wizard." Kiron gave him a panicked look. Ash was perplexed, while Silan looked extremely amused.

"Who's Aneare?" Ash asked.

The brothers exchanged panicked glances. "No one!" They said at the same time.

"They must never meet!" Koran told Silan, looking as if he was ready to run out of the room.

"You mean Aneare your sister?" Silan asked, grinning like he had been waiting for this for a long time.

"You have a sister?" Ash was, by this point, extremely confused.

"Uh... Sort of." Came the only reply from the brothers, who wouldn't meet her gaze.

"You 'sort of' have a sister?"

"Well... Uh... We have a younger sister. Her name's Aneare. You two are never allowed to meet."

"Uh... Why?" Ash asked, looking a bit concerned for the brothers' sanity.

"Oh.. You know... reasons."

"Reasons?"

Koran looked flustered, while his brother just made a face at Silan. "Just give me a second to make up a good one..."

"You have 30 seconds."

Koran looked confused. "To make up a reason?"

"Before I injure you."

Upon hearing this, the brothers retreated to the other side of the room, moving into a two person huddle. Ash began counting loudly. The brothers caved before she even got to thirteen.

"Fine! Just... Stop counting!"

Ash raised an eyebrow. "So?"

"So what?"

"Why can't I meet your mysterious sister?"

Silan laughed. "Because if the two of you were ever even in the same room, you could probably cause the fall of the Woodland Realm.

Kiron and Koran continued to refuse to meet her gaze, while Ash gave them a slightly amused look. "So... I can't meet your sister because we're too much alike?"

Silan smirked. "No, more they're scared of what you two would manage to do to them if you ever met."

"Well now I have to meet her!" Ash complained.

"Which is exactly why we never told you." Koran pointed out.

"Wait, you're scared of your little sister?" Ash asked, smirking. Kiron and Koran exchanged a glance, seemingly having a silent conversation.

"Yes." Kiron finally said.

"But she's scary! I swear she can handle a sword better than me." Kiron said, without regret.

"I'm sure a lot of people can handle a sword better than you." Silan laughed.

"Says the one who failed archery!"

"Only because you bet me I couldn't hit the target with my eyes closed!" Silan protested.

Kiron laughed and shrugged. "You couldn't."

"Yeah, because you and your idiotic brother-" Silan was cut off by Ash.

"Okay, sore subject. Anyway, back to the matter at hand." Ash nodded and turned to the brothers. "When can I meet your sister?"

Koran groaned. "I thought we were over this."

Ash raised an eyebrow, while Silan laugh. "You know she'll never get over it."

Ash nodded. "Not until I get to meet her. And I will, one way or another. So now, that leaves you with two choices: You can not take me to meet her, in which case I'll find her on my own, or you can introduce us, and be there to at least know what we're plotting about. The choice is yours."

It took almost no deliberating for the brothers to come to a conclusion. "Fine. But... It can only be for ten minutes, and we will supervise every second of it."

Kiron nodded, and added; "And you have to wear a blindfold when we take you to the demon's dwelling."

"Demon's dwelling?"

"This is our little sister we're talking about. We have an automatic right to call her whatever seems fit, which, in this case, happens to be 'demon.'"

Ash rolled her eyes. "So... She likes Wizards? What started this whole thing was you saying that you couldn't wait to tell Aneare."

"She's always wanted to meet one... Not exactly _loyal_ to the elves, or, more specifically, to their beliefs."

Ash shrugged. "Neither am I."

Koran sighed. "Which is why it was decreed when we first met you that you two must never meet. We will literally be breaking the longest standing rule in our lifetime."

Ash shrugged. "Sounds like something you'd do eventually, with or without me interfering."

"Or a Wizard." Silan pointed out.

"Oh, sure, blame this all on the Wizard." Kiron said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, he stirred up trouble. It's kind of what they do." Silan said, grinning.

Koran looked thoughtful. "I don't like it."

"Yeah. Causing trouble's our thing." Kiron agreed.

"Well, he said he didn't expect we'd meet again. I don't think you have much to worry about anymore, anyway."

Ash grinned. "Then again, he also said to expect the unexpected."

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Aneare should be in the next chapter, in case anyone was wondering. The actual quest is coming up soon, so stay tuned! :) Reviews are greatly appreciated. Also, sorry if some of the "Gandalf dialogue" was a little out of character, as it's pretty difficult to write. Thanks for reading!**

 **Until the very end,**

 **CarverEdlundtheLast**


	5. Fire and Schemes

**A/N: We're really sorry this is so late, but we had a huge English paper due, and then I didn't have access to a computer, so... Yeah. I'm so sorry! On a more positive note, thank you so much to jayjay0815 for all the support, as well as ChinaxJapan101, Crazygirl8243, justcallmek, Jocahill, and Tar-Ancalimae for following/favoriting. We really appreciate it! Anyway, the majority of this chapter is based off of a request from jayjay0815, and is right before the quest, although they haven't left Mirkwood yet. Hope you like it!**

 **PS: All the Elvish phrases in this chapter are from grey-company (for some reason it won't save _.org_ at the end, but it's there)**

 **Disclaimer: Does anyone have any creative ways to say we don't own The Hobbit? It would be greatly appreciated… :)**

 **jayjay0815, I hope that this fits what you had in mind for your request, and thanks so much for the great idea!**

* * *

Chapter Four

Fire and Schemes

The sun was high in the sky by the time they finally made it back over the wall, no thanks to Kiron and Koran, who flatly refused to help anyone back over. Eventually, Ash resorted to threatening them with her bow, which didn't end well. Actually, it ended with Kiron dangling from the highest part of the wall, but "didn't end well" was probably the best way to sum it up if anyone but the four of them were there to hear...

They hurried back, mostly anxious to eat. Naturally they had all thought to bring weapons, but not food. They walked past the palace, Kiron and Koran instinctively putting their hoods up as they passed the dungeons. While making the journey back to his room in the palace, Silan's mind strayed to the words of the Wizard. He had basically outright told them that they had found a prophecy, which was certainly not something that happened everyday.

It wasn't as if he doubted the existence of prophecies, however it always seemed as though they lived in a time when all great stories had already been lived, or were yet to be born. It is not very often that anyone opens their eyes to the great stories that are painted throughout the ages, even their own, unnoticed by most. No stories are ever truly ever over, sometimes all that happens after goodbye is simply too much to be put into a sequel. Time tells its own story. And yet the possibility that they still lived in a time of quests and heroes seemed absurd. Perhaps, though, it is not the world that is less willing to allow heroes. Maybe it's the people.

"Do you really think that there's a prophecy being fulfilled out there... now?" Ash asked, breaking the contented silence that had settled over the four of them.

Silan laughed. "I think there are a lot of prophecies being fulfilled now, in distant lands, or simply going unacknowledged. It's just hard to comprehend that anyone here may be part of it."

Kiron laughed. "It's just that, I guess we've heard all these stories about Wizards coming around and messing with things, then fixing them, then leaving again. I guess it just seems like things like that don't happen anymore."

They all nodded. Ash gave a smirk. "Yeah, except now that he's met us, Mithrandir will probably see to it that he comes no where near Mirkwood ever again, or at least while the prophecies are all still being fulfilled."

Silan raised an eyebrow. "Why? It's not like we can mess up anything that was written thousands of years before."

Koran smirked. "Yes we can. If we were even remotely involved with any prophecy, you know that we'd take what it tells us to do and do the exact opposite. It's the way we work. Break things, rebel against anything that seems to have authority over us."

Ash grinned. "That's why I love you guys."

Kiron opened his mouth to speak, however was cut off by Ash, who was sending him a fearsome glare. "Not a word."

Kiron shrunk back with a mock bow. "Yes, ma'am."

Silan shook his head and laughed. "So, anyone want to head to the forest? We have another objective to cross off our list."

Koran gave a mischievous smile. "Two."

Silan raised an eyebrow. "What exactly am I missing?"

Ash grinned, remembering Kiron and Koran's behavior from earlier that day. "Anger a Wizard."

Silan shook his head as the three of them laughed. "That explains a lot. But why did you have to pick Mithrandir, out of all the Wizards you could have chosen from? I mean Radagast would have been a much better candidate."

Ash continued to grin. "How so?"

"Well, for one, he wouldn't vaporize you with his staff if you got on his nerves." Silan pointed out.

"We did get on Mithrandir's nerves, if I recall correctly. And unless I missed a lot, none of us are vaporized." Koran smirked.

"Well, even so, if you had actually managed to get him angry, not just annoy him... All I'm saying is that you know the stories. He can be pretty scary when people mess with him." Silan said.

"So can we. And, anyway, we're all here to check this one off the list, so I see nothing wrong." Koran laughed.

"Well, of course you wouldn't." Silan laughed. "You never see anything wrong unless you're forced to eat the food they serve in the dungeons."

Kiron shrugged. "That's not true. During Yavieba, the food they serve in the dungeon is better than the food at my house!"

Koran nodded. Silan tilted his head to the side. "Is that why you guys always get yourselves thrown into prison around celebration time? I thought it was because you always sneak wine from the cellar..."

The brothers looked offended. "No! Well, maybe the wine helps a little with the reasoning, but getting thrown into the dungeons is purposeful." Koran assured them.

Silan laughed. "Because that's any better."

Kiron scowled. "Don't judge our logic."

Ash laughed. "Never. We were just questioning your sanity."

Kiron nodded. "Good... Wait - Hey!"

Silan raised an eyebrow. "You had to have seen that coming."

Koran shrugged. "Sadly, we kind of did."

They all laughed, considering the fact that what was considered to be a normal conversation between the four of them was likely enough to send them to jail until they were old and grey. That wasn't to say that they cared, and, as Silan noted with a laugh, they certainly didn't care enough to change anything. Strangely, he couldn't find fault with that.

 **. . .**

The sun melted into the horizon, smearing the colors through the sky and dulling the light that had once been day. They had decided to light a fire, which had lead to each of them sporting some interesting charcoal drawings on various limbs and on their faces after a war involving said charcoal. The fire had been reduced to ashes, and they sat watching as the last embers faded into darkness. It was then that they heard the screams.

They all immediately got up, drawing weapons and running in the direction of the noise. The ancient trees of Mirkwood swayed above them and creaked in the wind, and as they got closer the air was littered with the sound of battle. They broke through the forest into a clearing close to the gates, where the battle was being fought. And dancing in the wrathful sky above them was a dragon.

The screaming was unbearable. Cries split the night air, breaking the silence that had never quite been, yet could be felt beneath the blanket of shouts and pleas that now veiled it. More warriors ran out, followed closely by particularly curious Elves, come to see what all the commotion was about. Still more screams could be heard.

"Ma!"

"Rim! Uruloki!"

The four of them looked on with the Elvish army as the Woodland Realm began to burn. The Elves had no hope or means of killing the dragon, and any attempt would be futile. They had lost enough lives as it was. Yet they still stood, side by side, at least certain of one thing: If they fell, it would be with swords flashing and heads high. So they fought. None of the warriors noticed the four elflings that charged into battle alongside them.

"Wait 'till it comes within striking distance, then try to put a sword through it." Kiron yelled over the chaos.

It didn't seem to help much, however the dragon at least stayed higher in the sky, too high for its claws to reach them. The battle raged on, and conditions stayed relatively the same, save the fact that nearly half the kingdom by then was engulfed in flames. That was when Koran decided that it would be good idea to find out if any of them had skills with magic. Needless to say, it didn't end well. Truthfully, though, it wouldn't have either way, as there was no option left that didn't require some sacrifice.

They took shelter under a fallen tree, somehow managing to think in the chaos, though not well. Silan wracked his mind for any spells that might be even remotely helpful. For all his education, magic wasn't exactly something he was expected to know, as not many people could even do anything with that knowledge. Luckily, Kiron and Koran had been around healers more often than he, as well as quite a few Elves not officially trained in the magical arts. They weren't able to come up with many, but it was enough.

Ash, for reasons none of them understood (or wanted to know), knew quite a few spells, which they had found to be very useful, as well. Finding the spell, however, was the easy part. Spells such as the ones they had chosen required mastering, and none of them had ever been trained in magic before. They didn't even know if any of them were capable of doing magic, no less performing such impressive spells. But they were desperate.

They started small. They practiced on stray weapons or dead tree branches, trying to cram an entire apprenticeship full of magic into less than half an hour. And it was, for once, going all right. They found that Kiron and Koran were quite good at performing the first spell needed, while Silan had mastered the second. Ash wasn't particularly adept when it came to magic, however had better aim than all of them. They would need her for the second part.

About halfway through their plotting, they had needed to change work stations, for the tree they had been hiding under had started on fire. They had to dodge streams of fire often as they worked, but it is remarkable how quickly one becomes accustomed to working in a particular environment. After they were all able to perform their part reasonably well, they decided that it was time to take action. And so they found themselves, relatively alone on the battlefield (as most of the warriors had regrouped or gone off to try to come up with a plan) staring down a dragon. They decided (rather wisely) not to waste any time. They didn't have any to waste.

* * *

 **Translations:**

 **Yavieba: Autumnal equinox (celebration)**

 **Ma! : Look!**

 **Rim! Uruloki! : Run! Dragon!**

 **A/N: I'm really sorry if some of the Elvish isn't** **spot on, like I said before, I got it off of a random website... Anyway, thanks for reading! We'd really appreciate some feedback, whether it's by reviewing or PM'ing us with a suggestion, it really means a lot. Also, thank you so much to anyone who's made it this far - we can't thank you enough! Please feel free to give a suggestion/request, or (constructive) criticism. We had to end this a little early, because otherwise it was going to get really long, but hope you liked it, anyway. Thanks so much for reading!**

 **Until the very end,**

 **CarverEdlundtheLast**


	6. The Short Version of Forever

**A/N: This one, again, is for jayjay0815, who suggested the dragon attack. I hope you like what we did with it! We really do take and appreciate suggestions if you have any. On that note, enjoy! :)**

 **Disclaimer: Seriously, we weren't kidding about taking requests for disclaimers. I'm clean out of ideas to say, as always, that we don't own The Hobbit or any of the characters… unfortunately. :)**

 **P.S: Once again, any Elvish phrases/spells are from Grey Company, so please give us a little bit of leeway if some of the translations aren't spot-on. As much as I'd like to, I don't speak fluent Elvish. :)**

* * *

Chapter Five

The Short Version of Forever

The four of them stood, statues in a field otherwise conquered by fire. From afar, the plan had sounded decent enough. Standing this close, however, it sounded, (at best) just crazy enough to work. Hopefully it was… Well, that wasn't so much the problem as the plan being too crazy to work, as was typically the case with many of their "plans".

They stood below the fiery sky, the earth trembling beneath the wrath of the serpent that twisted its way through the horizon. After much contemplating (as well as writing of wills and, once again, eulogies) Kiron and Koran put the plan into motion. Looking back, perhaps it wasn't the wisest idea to have the brothers go first, but they were never ones to pass up a challenge. Even if said challenge came in the form of a Great Serpent of the North…

So it was that the brothers found themselves standing in the middle of the battlefield, with only their wits (which Ash and Silan insisted wouldn't be of much help) and a half-baked plan to use as a weapon. They eventually got up the courage to put the plan into motion, as they all knew that once Kiron and Koran fulfilled their part, there would be very little time to finish it.

They began just as they had all practiced, attempting to muster enough magic to perform the spell, however it was considerably different performing it on a live dragon than it had been on the dead trees they had been practicing with. Eventually, the task could be delayed no longer.

"Lova poldora," the brothers yelled, although not in the preferred unison; Kiron was a beat behind Koran in saying the spell, however it didn't seem to affect the actual result too much, just made for a far less dramatic moment.

The dragon was still suspended in the air, however now their weapons seemed to be having more of an effect on the dragon. That meant that the spell had worked, which, in turn, meant that it was time for the second part of the plan. It was at that point that Silan took over.

He had the next part of the spell, as Kiron and Koran (who were by that point in time collapsed in the middle of the battlefield) didn't seem to be up to it at that moment.

"Pilin en' templa!" Silan's shout was carried away by the fiery wind, however it gave the words no less power.

An arrow hung, suspended in the sky by the power of the spell. It gleamed in the light of the fires that were now woven throughout the kingdom, within history. With Silan preoccupied with recovering from the spell, Ash took up her job.

The dragon seemed to sense where this was going – nowhere good, at least not for him. Fortunately for Silan, Kiron, and Koran, all of them had managed to get out of the line of fire. Unfortunately for Ash, that left her exposed and the only target, seeing as most of the other Elves had no part in this and therefore wouldn't feel the full effect until later, after Ash herself was dealt with. She was the main threat to b eliminated, although she was not too keen on that idea.

Ash barely managed to roll ungracefully out of the way as fire cascaded toward her. How exactly she managed to get herself into situations such as the current, she was yet to find an answer. Answering how exactly she was going to get herself out, however, would be even trickier.

They all knew that they didn't have long before the arrow faded – no magic was strong enough to hold forever, much less magic that had been learned in the midst of a battle in less than half an hour. It was certainly going to be an interesting fight, no matter how it ended. By then they were all pretty much just trying to dodge the fire that had engulfed the night, somewhat successfully. Ash was mainly attempting to make her way to where the arrow still hung, however the dragon seemed to be aware of this. She could find no way around the fire.

The dragon descended, once again, within striking range. Apparently it was getting tired of the game they were playing. Ash had to agree, it really wasn't her favorite past time, either. By then, the others had joined her, and they were all scattered around the battle field trying to draw the attention of the dragon when the others looked to be cornered or in great danger. It wasn't the greatest strategy, but it was keeping them alive.

Ash continued to push her way closer to the arrow, which was now considerably harder to see than it had been when the spell was first cast. Silan stood next to her, attempting to reach the arrow if she couldn't. Ash was probably close enough to take a dive for it, and lunged as the dragon turned to Kiron, who was yelling once again to get its attention. Unfortunately, he risked a glance in Ash's direction. Dragons were really smarter than they were given credit for.

Ash was holding the arrow when it turned, which was probably not the best of places to be right then. She gave a panicked look in the direction of her friends, then turned to look at the dragon. And she smiled.

The dragon didn't seem to be amused by this, however did pause slightly. In his experience, Elves only smiled when they had something up their sleeve, a backup plan. In this case, the Elf did not, in fact have a backup plan, save smiling at the dragon and hoping it assumed the worst. Said plan seemed to be working, too.

Most on the battlefield stood frozen, then, waiting to see how this would play out. The answer to the question was not particularly well.

Ash glanced at the dragon nervously. " _Lle quena i'lambe tel' Eldalie_?" She asked, looking genuinely curious as to what language the dragon spoke. Evidently the answer was "not Elvish", seeing as the dragon looked just as angry as before.

Ash grinned. Well, that was a new development. "L _lie n'vanima ar' lle atara lanneina_ ," She stated, grinning like a lunatic.

Kiron and Koran began to laugh hysterically, and Silan had to hide his face, which did little to help the situation.

Ash was still standing in the middle of the battlefield, laughing a bit manically, when it lunged. She was caught off guard, the dragon's claw catching her in her side. It certainly wasn't a lethal hit, but that wasn't to say that it didn't hurt. The arrow flew out of her hands, landing with a clang on the smoldering ground. She grunted and fell with an ungraceful thud, holding her would. She was left curled up and bleeding on the battlefield, frantically trying to reach the arrow without loosing too much blood.

Most of the Elves on the battlefield, still reeling from the sudden turn of events, forgot to move in the events that were to come. Said events involved an extremely angry dragon, which lead to quite a bit of fire. The dragon raised its head in victory, fire rising from its throat. Most of the Elves, as was mentioned before, could only stare at the wall of fire that was about to drown the two figures closest to the arrow. There were five exceptions.

Number One was Koran, who made sure that his little brother was safe before running toward Ash and Silan. Number Two was Kiron, who complained about said action before running after his brother, and attempted to make sure that their little sister was nowhere near the battle. Number Three was Silan, who put himself between Ash and the fire. Number Four was Ash, who braced herself for the inevitable blow and tried to reach the arrow that, by that point, was their only salvation. And number four was a girl with black hair and somehow familiar-looking green eyes, who picked up the arrow before Ash could.

And that was the end. The girl apparently had impeccable aim, seeing as the fire that had been their future never came. The death blow they had all been expecting was never delivered. Instead, there was a strangled cry as the sky was set alight, and a tremble of the earth as the dragon fell.

 **. . .**

"All I'm saying is that I had that shot!" Ash argued, glaring at the girl with black hair.

Said girl just shrugged, raising an eyebrow. "Yes, because doing nothing except bracing yourself for the final blow is a definite symbol that you have everything covered," The girl said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Ash continued to glare. "You practically grabbed it out of my hand! I had it!"

"Then maybe you should have held on to it tighter. I mean, it was only the entire fate of Mirkwood."

It took Kiron, Koran, and Silan to hold Ash back. There was quite a bit of yelling in the conversation that followed, eventually leading to them getting kicked out of the infirmary. They were all relatively unscathed, anyway, and Ash was already mostly patched up, so none of them were particularly upset. Besides that, they disliked about half of the healers there, and Ash absolutely loathed infirmaries. Needless to say, they left in a hurry.

Upon walking outside, it was quite obvious that a battle had just been fought there. The only stop to the fire that had ravaged the poorer part of the kingdom had been when it finally ran out of fuel, when it ran out of homes to burn. The infirmary was more full than any of them had ever seen it. It was to be guessed that the last time the wounded had numbered this many had been after the Battle of Five Armies, although none of them remembered that particularly well. Their time had been too late to recall that great story, and yet still they had not escaped fate.

It was only once they had reached the forest that Ash thought to ask who exactly the black-haired girl was. Upon hearing this, both Kiron and Koran hid their faces. The girl just raised an eyebrow at them.

"Name's Aneare," she said, much to Kiron and Koran's dismay, and Silan's obvious amusement.

Ash grinned, however not at Aneare. "Well, at least now you don't have to worry about the two of us teaming up to kill you," Ash pointed out, glancing at the rather horror-stricken brothers. She could see the resemblance now; they had the same dark hair and mischievous features, although Kiron had brown eyes, unlike his older brother and younger sister.

Silan nodded. "Yeah, if anything you have to keep them from killing each other."

Kiron glared. "Because that's any better."

Ash shrugged. "It can't be any worse. I have a new target for now."

Koran groaned. "For now."

"We'll see if it lasts," Silan laughed.

Aneare shrugged, casting a threatening glare in Ash's direction before speaking. "Nothing lasts forever."

Ash grinned in return. "That doesn't mean everything has to change," she quipped.

"That... makes literally no sense." Koran commented, but received only a glare from Ash.

"You two will probably be at each other's necks _and_ scheming against Kiron and Koran forever, or at least until the day you die." Silan said, probably genuinely.

Ash shrugged. "True."

"Or until just one of dies..." Aneare pointed out, fingering a knife that Ash could have sworn she didn't have a second ago. She still didn't feel particularly threatened.

Ash nodded. "Which would make it the short version of forever," She said casually, with a smile.

* * *

 **Translations:**

 **Lova poldora: Weaken (A spell used to weaken your opponent)**

 **Pilin en' templa: Magic arrow (Spell used to create a magic arrow)**

 **Lle quena i'lambe tel' Eldalie?:** **Do you speak Elvish?**

 **Llie n'vanima ar' lle atara lanneina** **: You're ugly and your mother dresses you funny.** ***No joke! There's actually a translation for this!**

 **A/N: I've decided that I really, really love Elvish insults. Most of them don't even make sense, but they're still hilarious. :) Lol. Anyway, hope you liked the battle, sorry if parts were a little slow.** **Anyway, reviews are always appreciated, as we'd really like to know what you guys want to see in this story. I really can't express how much it means if you've even gotten this far, and thank you so much to anyone who's reading this right now. You guys are precioussss… :)**

 **Until the very end,**

 **CarverEdlundtheLast**


	7. Of (Broken) Rules and Misadventures

**A/N: … Hey, guys… Okay, we are so sorry! I know it's been over a week, and I honestly don't have a valid excuse, other than lack of inspiration and an over load of homework. With that said, thank you so much to anyone who has followed or favorited, because it really means a lot to know that people are enjoying this. We really would appreciate some reviews, as it's always nice to get a little input, and/or constructive criticism. Also, thank you so much to jayjay0815 for all the support! I really can't express how much it means to us. With all that being said, I hope you like where this is going! :)**

 **PS: The sword mentioned in this chapter isn't canon, but** **won't mess with the book or movie plot. Also, _Megil en Naur_ means _Sword of Fire_ in Elvish. **

**Disclaimer: We don't own the Hobbit. Enough said.**

* * *

Chapter Six

Of (Broken) Rules and Misadventures

The five of them spent the night in the forest, dangling from tree branches or sprawled on the ground in a bed of leaves. The sun was fully up by the time they finally stirred, bleary eyed and exhausted from the battle the night before. It was nearly midday by the time they actually bothered to get up.

"I almost wish that there would be another dragon attack, just for something to do," Ash whined, moaning as they made their way out of the forest.

The other four shook their heads. "Give me time to recover from the last attack before you decide to send another live dragon my way," Kiron grinned, wincing when Ash hit him.

"Ow," he complained, glaring at her.

Ash gave him a smirk and was about to reply when she tripped. Or, was tripped, more accurately, by Kiron. Ash tripped him back. The situation eventually escalated to all of them battling each other with sticks as their only weapon, forging and breaking alliances and faking extremely dramatic deaths when the need arose.

Needless to say, they emerged from the forest even more bruised and beaten than before, yet considerably less weary. Once they reached the castle, they all went their separate ways to get cleaned up from the battle, a task which had been neglected the night before. Ash spent the rest of the day using empty barrels for target practice and moping about the lack of anything interesting. Silan spent the rest of the day trying to avoid his older brother and keep up the pretense that he hadn't been at the battle the night before. Aneare spent the rest of the day running from guards in the castle, trying to create something interesting to do. Kiron spent the rest of the day causing trouble in the kingdom, and Koran spent the rest of the day running around with his brother. As a result, they had all somehow found their way to the dungeons by the time night arrived.

For Ash, it was the target practice. She had been innocently (in her opinion) mutilating a barrel in preparation for an attack that she theoretically wouldn't be allowed to attend, when a warrior walked past. Unfortunately, this warrior wasn't altogether fond of her, and she had been firing arrows all day, which had left her suitably tired. In all fairness, she hadn't actually hit him, just... Narrowly missed him. The warrior hadn't cared much for technicalities.

For Aneare, it had been the dragon. Fortunately, the actual dragon was taken care of, however, unfortunately for her, the damage to the castle was still being repaired. She had been not-so-innocently running through the castle after stealing one of the guard's bows, when she ran into a cave-in. She knew every escape route in the castle, however not every spot that had been damaged. Consequentially, she found herself being dragged (rather roughly, as most of the guards weren't exactly fond of her) to the dungeons.

For Koran, it was the blacksmith. He and his brother had been stirring up trouble on the outskirts of town, stealing whatever they didn't think anyone would miss. Unfortunately, a brand new sword taken from the armory probably didn't qualify as something that wouldn't be missed. So it was that he found himself being dragged to the dungeon, refusing to put his feet down and hoping that the guards didn't discover his hidden cache of weapons.

For Kiron, it was following his brother. Enough said.

For Silan, it was a combination of all of the aforementioned antagonists. He was, in fact, not dragged to the dungeons, but summoned. Evidently, "one of the prisoners had asked for him". This actually meant that Kiron, Koran, Aneare, and Ash had bullied the guards into getting him, but there really wasn't much of a difference by that point. Upon arriving, he was met with four extremely-guilty-yet-not-at-all-repentant faces, all in different cells. Ash grinned at him from behind the bars. Kiron glared at the guard.

"See, I told you he'd come. We're practically brothers."

Silan shook his head, while the guard looked incredibly annoyed. Silan gave the guard an apologetic look. "I think they've learned their lessons," he said, hoping that the guard would comply. Thankfully, it wasn't much more complicated than that. They all walked out of the dungeons trying (unsuccessfully) to hide grins.

"So, were all of you in for the same thing, or did you manage to get arrested separately?" Silan inquired, only once he was sure the guard could no longer hear them.

They all glanced at one another, trying to decide who would have to answer. It was Kiron who eventually spoke.

"We were all caught for different things..."

Silan gave an exasperated sigh. Ash just grinned. "Don't pretend like it's the first time."

Koran grinned. "Or the last," he added.

Silan shook his head. "Not for a second."

Aneare grinned. "I think I've done my job, then," she said.

Kiron looked concerned. "And that is...?"

Aneare raised an eyebrow. "Not to assassinate you, if that's what you're thinking."

Ash grinned. "Not yet..."

Neither of the brothers looked extremely concerned. They began to make their way back to the castle, however were stopped by Ash when they passed the Hall of Stone, now sporting a broken door.

"Do you guys want to-" Ash was cut off, and given four extremely different answers.

"No!"

"Never!"

"Maybe not..."

"Yes!"

Silan, Kiron, Koran, and Aneare responded, presumably in that order. Silan just shook his head.

"And may I remind you that last time we decided it'd be a good idea to visit the Hall of Stone, we got locked in for a day?"

Ash just shrugged. "I remember perfectly, I just don't see how that should affect us this time."

Aneare nodded. "Besides, I've never been in there," she pointed out.

"And that's supposed to be good reason to go back? Because we'll have the most destructive Elf I know with us this time to help out?" Silan asked, shaking his head. "And anyway, it really wasn't as interesting as all of us thought it'd be. It almost wouldn't be worth it, going back."

Koran grinned. "Almost," he pointed out to them, glancing at the crumbling wall that stood in front of them.

Ash nodded. "And last time, we didn't know that they were prophecies. That makes it a lot more interesting."

Aneare, by that point, looked suitably perplexed. "They're prophecies? How do you know?"

"We don't," Silan answered, glaring at Ash.

"Well, Mithrandir seemed-" She began, however was cut off.

"And you really think it's wise to trust a Wizard?" Silan asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"Until such time as any Wizard gives me a reason not to trust them, then, yes, I will continue to think it wise to trust a Wizard," Ash nodded.

Kiron and Koran groaned. "And so the war begins again..." Kiron muttered, glancing at Ash and Silan, who were both continuing to argue their point.

"What?" Aneare asked, looking at her brothers like they were insane, which may have been partially true...

"Well, you see, Ash and Silan are like siblings to us and to each other," Koran began.

"And they're also both some of the most stubborn people we know," Kiron added.

Koran nodded. "Which means that if you value your life, you don't want to be anywhere near either of them when they fight," Koran finished, glancing nervously towards Ash and Silan. Ash was actually attempting to get over the wall on her own, and Silan was trying to continue to argue his side and at the same time make sure Ash didn't fall. Things were complicated like that when it came to the four - now five - of them. And that was exactly as it should be.

 **. . .**

It was a long while before the situation changed, and when it did it was under unique circumstances. Said circumstances involved Ash, who had been steadily making her way up the wall, attempting to keep Silan out of her way, discovering that the wall really wasn't as stable as it was made out to be. Silan, who had been attempting to stop this very occurrence from happening, discovered that it was not as easy to actually catch someone as it, theoretically, should be. Actually, Koran discovered the same thing, after attempting to make sure that neither of his friends injured themselves, and Kiron found that it was not always a good idea to follow his brother. Aneare discovered that staying on the sidelines eventually led to involvement, despite her efforts to keep out of the fray. Needless to say, not even one fifth of the group was left unscathed.

Having all recovered and successfully freed themselves from the dog pile that had ensued, the group (not including a slightly annoyed Silan) again turned their attention on finding a way over the gate. It was not quite as simple as it had been last time, for they now knew that the wall was not as stable as they had initially thought it to be. Despite this knowledge, they chose not to heed the warnings from Silan, and within minutes were set to launch Kiron over the wall.

Having finally convinced Silan to come to their aid (which may or may not have involved a threat or two), four of them stood ready to lift Kiron over the barrier (throw, in Ash's words). This involved the four of them standing in a circle around their victim, Ash and Aneare grinning a tad too innocently.

They gave up only once Kiron made it quite obvious that he could and would use a sword against them if said method of getting back over continued. It was around that time that Aneare noticed a hole in the bottom of the wall, jut big enough to fit through.

"Well, that's just... great. There was a hole the entire time? Come on," Ash complained.

Kiron glared. "You weren't the victim," he said, by then sporting many bruises from the failed attempts at getting over.

It was far less dim, upon entering the second time, due to the pieces of something which was once a door that lay scattered around. This time, so as to prevent another surprise trip such as the current, Koran copied the prophecy into their book, adding to their fount of mischief.

"So... What do you think it means?" Ash asked, clearly eager to find out what the cryptic words actually referred to.

Silan shook his head. "Are they meant to mean anything? It's not as if we got our information from the most reliable source..." He pointed out.

"Yes, they are. And they do. Besides, it wasn't exactly the most unreliable source, either," Kiron argued.

Aneare, who had been uncharacteristically quiet up until that point, made a grab for the book, trying to read the prophecy.

"Look at this. 'Seek the blade that time forgot'. That has to mean something. Do you... Do you think it could be the Megil en Naur?" she asked hesitantly, still looking at the prophecy.

Silan shook his head. "That hasn't been seen for centuries. There's no proof it ever even existed."

Aneare raised an eyebrow. "But what if it did?"

"Then someone would have found it by now," Silan insisted.

"Not if no one believed it existed. It's considerably harder to find something if no one's willing to look," Koran shot back.

Aneare grinned. "Let's go, then."

Koran looked at his sister as if she were insane. "Where?"

"To find the sword," Ash said, picking up on the idea, and quite liking it, as well.

Kiron nodded again. "Where?"

Aneare shrugged. "Anyone have any ideas?"

Silan shook his head, laughing. "We're not going to run off to look for the Sword of Fire. And we're certainly not going to find it."

Ash glared, looking at the others. "Don't listen to him, he's a nonbeliever. We don't tolerate such... creatures."

"You've managed so far," Silan laughed.

Ash shrugged. "Just biding my time..."

"Somehow, I don't feel threatened."

"Somehow, I think you should," Koran put in.

Ash walked to the door. "Are we going, then?"

The answers were as follows:

"Yeah, sure."

"Yes!"

"Will it involve time in the dungeons?"

"What? No!"

Aneare grinned. "Well, come on, then. We've got work to do."

 **. . .**

It took them about an hour to pack everything they thought that they'd need for the journey, although they had absolutely no idea whatsoever where they were headed, a fact which Silan did not fail to point out.

"Well, first we look for Mithrandir," Ash reasoned. "He'll probably know something about it."

Aneare nodded, eyes shining. "Then we create our own little company. Except try not to restart the Battle of Five Armies..."

Silan shook his head, laughing at the situation. "I feel like something like this was going through our minds when we were younger and tried to run away from the kingdom."

Kiron sighed, remembering the misadventure. "We didn't even make it until dinner," he remembered fondly.

Aneare grinned. "I remember that. You were gone for a grand total of ten hours, and wouldn't go near the forest for months afterwards."

Koran shushed her, seeing Ash and Silan's amused looks. He grinned at her fondly, pulling her into a headlock."Some things are best left unsaid, little sister."

Aneare fought her way out of his grasp. "And others are just dying to be told. This was one of them. I couldn't help myself."

Kiron and Koran glared at their little sister, while Ash and Silan had to stifle laughter. Eventually, they (sort of) got back to discussing the problem at hand; getting past the guards that watched the walls.

"We could use Silan -" Ash began.

"Stop right there," Silan demanded. "I want no part worse than yours in whatever insane escape plan we choose to put into play."

Ash sighed. "Fine... There go plans A, B, and C..."

"Darn, I've got a list of ones that we could have used."

Silan gave Ash an incredulous look. "Your first three plans of escape included using me as a decoy?"

"... You're expendable?"

They all laughed.

"We should come up with a meeting place, in case we get separated," Aneare suggested.

Ash nodded. "Which brings us to another point. If one of us is captured, we go on. They'll have to find their own way out."

Koran raised an eyebrow, "What are we, fugitives?"

Aneare shrugged. "Of a sort..."

Silan shrugged. "Fair enough." He thought back to some of the things they had done over the years.

Kiron glanced over at them, seemingly struck with a thought. "Ummm, where exactly are we heading?"

"To find Mithrandir."

"Yeah, but... How are we going to find Mithrandir?"

"We'll check nearby towns and ask around. It can't be too hard," Silan reasoned, still not entirely fond of the idea, but determined to go through with it.

"Is it really a good idea to be actually looking for a wizard? I mean, we get pretty unlucky on our own," Koran pointed out.

Aneare grinned. "Don't you love it when we go looking for trouble?"

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks so much to anyone who read this chapter, and we hope you enjoyed it. Again, we're so sorry that it's been such a long time since we updated, as our first few basketball practices meant a lot less time for** **fan fiction. Thank you to anyone who has stuck with the story thus far, and to new readers, we hope you liked it. And I apologize if this chapter seemed a bit slow; it was sort of a filler chapter, but we honestly have absolutely no idea where the story is headed, or even the nature of the plot. Please let us know what you think, and thanks** **again for reading.**

 **A Note From the Other Twin: Pssst! Yeah, you. Review! :)**

 **Until the very end,**

 **CarverEdlundtheLast**


	8. Happy Hunger Games

**A/N: I'm so sorry it's been so long! I honestly can't say anything other than I sort of ran out of inspiration. To those of you who have stuck with this story, I really can't thank you enough!** **Thanks especially to jayjay0815 and Guest for the kind reviews and support! You guys really have no idea how much it means to us to know that this story might actually mean something to someone. :) Thanks also to anyone who's' favorited/followed, and really anyone who's made it this far. I know that the past couple chapters have been a little bit confusing, but I promise we'll go back and revisit some of the details we've neglected to write. Sometimes it's hard to look at it from the perspective of the reader, so your reviews really do help us, whatever they may be about. I hope you guys like the chapter!**

 **A note about the chapter's title: Yes, we know that the Hunger Games doesn't exist in Middle-earth. The title is just playing off of one of their** **arguments; the Hunger Games aren't actually mentioned. Oh, by the way, we don't own that either...**

 **Disclaimer: I own a copy of _The Hobbit_ … Unfortunately, I don't actually own it, just more copies of any Middle-earth related than is probably necessary... And the movies. And what's probably an unhealthy amount of anything else Tolkien related. And... Well, you get the idea. :)**

* * *

Chapter Seven

Happy Hunger Games

As it turned out, finding Mithrandir was quite a bit harder than they had expected it to be. They hadn't even made it out of the forest before Kiron and Koran decided that they had had enough of the "adventure". It was at that point that Ash decided that it would be a good idea to force them to continue at knifepoint, something which Aneare encouraged and Silan chose to turn a blind eye to, much to the brothers' dismay.

Eventually it was decided that, for the safety of all of them, they would at least continue on to the nearest village. Kiron and Koran quickly learned that escape attempts were futile, after each being on the receiving end of a tackle, executed by (not surprisingly) Ash and Aneare. Silan quickly learned not to get involved in such escape attempts, as evidently siding with either party was potentially life threatening.

Another task that had been underestimated was that of navigating through the dark forest of Mirkwood. The trees creaked and loomed above them, blocking out the light. Occasionally, one of them would trip on a stray root while going down one of the hills that made up the winding path, and consequently all of them would end up in a pile at the bottom of said hill. It was lonely, even with the others so near, walking without their usual banter. The silence that had fallen upon the forest seemed to fight against the fleeting laughter or attempts at conversation made by the children, and it made a surprisingly capable enemy.

Even so, they weren't the stealthiest of groups, either. Every step taken echoed on the lonely path, footsteps fading to nothing in the forest.

Kiron glanced around almost nervously before speaking. "Um... Do we even know the name of the nearest village?"

Ash glared at him. "No. No, we do not. And I'm assuming you remember why."

Kiron put his hands up in a gesture of defeat, but Ash wasn't quite ready to let it go. "But just in case you don't, it's because _some idiot_ somehow dropped our only map in the Enchanted River!" She yelled, effectively shattering any silence was well as peace that had remained after the initial outburst.

Kiron glared, "Well, it was a better alternative than falling in!"

Aneare smirked. "Next time we should let you..."

Ash, who had still not quite gotten over her initial dislike of the girl, glared in return. "Or maybe we sacrifice the newest," she suggested, "Which would be you."

"I'll help," Koran volunteered.

"Hey," Aneare protested, "I'm your sister!"

Koran nodded. "Which gives me the right to throw you into the river."

"Not the Enchanted River."

"What's the difference?"

"The _difference_ is that -" Aneare was cut off by Silan.

"Stop! I can deal with all of you trying to kill each other. But all of you trying to kill each other while arguing like drunk dwarves, that's something else entirely."

"I hate dwarves...," muttered Aneare in response.

Ash grinned. "But I bet drunk ones are really fun to mess with."

Silan glared at their response to his statement, but his resolve was short-lived, falling victim to a fit of laughter after Koran declared that he intended to test this theory before journey's end by leaving his brother in an enclosed room with a drunken dwarf. They proceeded for a while with their usual banter, although it was more to hold back the menacing silence of the forest than anything else. This point was only addressed in concerned glances directed at the trees that seemed from where they stood to be so very alive until Ash spoke up.

"Do any of you get the feeling that they," Ash motioned towards the trees that loomed around them, "Can almost...hear us? Or just that, I don't know, maybe we're not quite alone?"

Koran turned to glare at her. "You had to say it," he groaned.

"Say what?" Ash asked, taking pleasure in the fearful glanced that were being directed towards the trees after her statement.

"That! That the trees are watching us, or whatever your theory was. Now it'll happen," Koran complained.

"I was just wondering if any of my fellow adventurers were getting the same feeling," Ash defended, although more amusedly than defensively.

"And now we all are," Silan sighed, glancing at the trees warily.

Ash shrugged. "Hey, if I'm going down, I'm taking you with me," she declared.

Kiron shook his head. "'Down' meaning down to insanity, I take it?"

Aneare shrugged. "Let's face it; we're all already halfway there."

Silan shook his head, grinning. "Yeah; I guess that we're pretty lucky," he said sarcastically.

Ash grinned. "Truer words have never been spoken."

 **. . .**

They proceeded in relatively the same fashion for quite a while, that was until they stumbled upon a river. Which was curious, considering the fact that there was only one river in that particular area of Mirkwood and, according to Kiron and Koran's navigating, they were nowhere near that river.

Kiron glanced nervously at Ash, who looked to be contemplating something. "Oh, look at that... We've discovered a new river," he said with a nervous laugh.

Koran attempted to hide behind his brother. "I'm too young to die!" he wailed, never taking his eyes off of Ash.

Kiron, though unsurprised, did not look particularly happy with the betrayal. So it was that he found himself resorting to the same tactics. "Kill him first! He's older!" He said shoving behind his brother.

The situation eventually escalated to Kiron and Koran each trying to sacrifice the other by pushing them to Ash, who in turn had to fight her way through Silan while Aneare stood on the sidelines, bow drawn... just in case, she later explained when asked.

By the time the fight was broken up, the sun was beginning to fall to the horizon, and the many colors of dawn shone very faintly through the thick blanket of branches that ruled the skies of Mirkwood. They decided to proceed as long as the sun cooperated a little longer, although it was not the most relaxing of journeys. Silan and Aneare had to stand between the brothers and Ash, none of which had yet forgiven the others after the fight. They walked in a relative silence, though commonly broken by a small scuffle or kick breaking out between the travelers. Ash very nearly missed falling down a sink-hole just off the path after being pushed by Koran in an attempt to trip him, and it was at that point that she vowed to never trust either of the brothers again, something to which they all mutually agreed.

The vow had been completely forgotten by the time the sun went down.

 **. . .**

They decided that the night might be made more bearable by lighting a fire, however that, too, was easier said than done. Kiron (who was once again trusted enough to participate in group affairs) was first tasked with lighting it, however, upon the discovery that all the wood in the forest was damp from the mist that seemed to cover most of the forest floor, they soon resorted to magic.

Their attempt at "magic" consisted of each trying to recall what little they new of magic to find a spell that would work to light a fire. This resulted in Ash chasing Koran around with burning hands (the one spell she had mastered) while Kiron tried to find a way to fix his singed eyebrows after a failed attempt at the _brogallach en' templa_ spell, which, if performed correctly, would create an explosion just large enough to light a small fire. Needless to say, it was not performed correctly.

Eventually, Aneare successfully performed the _ram en' naur_ spell, although it resulted in a fire that was a bit larger than desirable. Seeing as none of them were exactly sure which plants were safe to eat, and Silan had not let the rest of them use Kiron to see which were poisonous, they ate what little they had thought to bring with them.

As they sat by the fire, which, not particularly good to begin with, was fast fading to coals, the topic which none of them wanted to talk about was finally addressed. "So..." Silan started nervously, "How are we going to get out of here?"

Ash glared at him. "Way to ruin the moment," she pouted.

Koran sighed. "Just when I was actually starting to be okay with this situation, you had to remind me that _we're probably going to die here_ ," he complained.

Silan put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Sorry, but we have to talk about the fact that we might die here if we can't figure out how to get out of this place," he pointed out.

Ash glanced around with a fake shudder. "Yeah, because the creepy forest is slowly draining our life force," she said sarcastically.

Aneare shook her head. "Let's just give it a couple more days, then start deciding who's going to be eaten first," she joked.

"I call last!" Koran yelled, glancing around with fake concern.

Silan rolled his eyes. "We'll be sure to put that into consideration."

Koran nodded. "Good."

Silan shook his head with a grin. "In that case, the rest of you better watch your backs," he joked.

"Same to you," Ash said as she sharpened her small knife against a rock.

"I always do," he assured her, eyes trained on the knife in her hands. "But that doesn't change the fact that we need to come up with a plan, in case we can't find Mithrandir."

"We have a plan," Kiron pointed out.

"Okay. So what's the plan?"

Koran grinned. "Every man for himself."

Silan nodded. "Thought so. Great plan. Let's start now, see how many of us make it out alive."

Ash laughed, standing up. "Starting now... Koran, I challenge you to a fight to the death. Winner takes the supplies."

"What supplies? We're sorely lacking in supplies."

"Okay, winner takes whatever was previously the loser's, then," Ash decided.

"Don't weapons count as supplies, too?" Aneare pointed out with a wicked grin.

"Yep," Ash nodded.

"Count me in, then," Aneare grinned.

Silan raised an eyebrow. "Well, count me out."

Ash pouted. "Aw, c'mon. It'll be fun."

"No one's fighting to the death," Silan said decisively.

"Well, what about unconsciousness?" Aneare asked, still grinning.

Silan sighed. "I just can't win..."

Kiron and Koran went up to pat him on the back. "Don't take it personally. You don't stand a chance against either of them when they're on different sides. When they've teamed up... Been nice knowing you," Kiron said solemnly.

"Yeah," Koran nodded. "If it makes you feel better, no one expected you to win, anyway," he assured him.

Silan shook his head with a grin. "Thanks for that, guys. You really know how to boost someone's self-confidence."

Ash and Aneare walked over to join them, still grinning from their apparent victory.

Ash looked at the forest around them, reflecting on their so far ill-fated adventure. She gave a cheeky grin. "Hey, at least we're not in class. I'd take this over getting scolded by Argot any day."

"Yeah, but I was sort of looking forward to starting training. It'd give us the chance to show off some of the skill we've acquired from all those years of sneaking off to go with on the orc hunts..." Kiron said smiling wryly. "But I guess that we'll have even more experience if we get out of this alive."

Ash rolled her eyes. "Quit being dramatic. We're gonna make it out of the forest."

Aneare raised an eyebrow. "What makes you so sure?"

Silan held up a hand. "Wait," he demanded. "Don't answer yet. I know what she's going to say."

"Oh, really?" Ash demanded. "What was I gonna say, then?"

"You're gonna say that it's 'instinct'," Silan said smugly.

"Wrong!" Ash yelled gleefully. "I was going to say that we have to last long enough to at least die interesting deaths, but I like your answer better."

Silan sighed. "See? I can't win," he said with a laugh.

"No, you can win, just not when your opponent's Ash," Kiron stated solemnly.

Koran nodded. "It's a proven fact."

"Proven how?" Aneare asked curiously.

"Proven by experience," Ash said plainly.

Silan shook his head. "I'd argue that point, but I apparently can't win."

Ash nodded. "Wise decision," she assured him. "Anyone want to come with me to gather more firewood?"

There was a collective "No..." from the group.

"Fine," she sighed dramatically. "But if I'm killed trying to get the wood, it's on you."

They all just laughed as she walked to the river, where they had discovered a dead tree that was being put to use as firewood. They all began to settle down for the night, although not looking forward to the night in the forest. So it was that Kiron had already fallen asleep, Aneare was trying to make herself comfortable up in a tree, Koran was swatting at a swarm of bugs that seemed to have taken a liking to his cloak, and Silan was standing guard when they heard the startled scream come from the river.

They were all up faster than they would have thought possible, however breathed a sigh of relief when they heard Ash's voice. "Um... Guys? You might want to come see this..."

They made it to the river relatively uneventfully, aside from spotting a pair if eyes watching from the trees, and stopped short when they got there. Nothing appeared to be out of place. In fact, everything was silent. Too silent...

Ash greeted them with a perplexed expression on her face. "I was collecting wood and sort of slipped when I saw a spider - a pretty big one too, the Mirkwood breed. Dead now, though - and I sort of fell in the river. Except... I didn't," She said, nervously motioning toward the river.

There was a collective gasp. There was no noise; the roaring of the river had been silenced.

The river was frozen.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Once again, we're so sorry it's been so long since we updated! We hope you liked it, though. :) I'm sorry if this was mostly just a lot of banter between the characters, but the next chapter will be very different. Thank you for anyone who has stuck with this story, as well as anyone who just discovered it. It really means a lot to know that you guys like it. :) Feel free to leave a review, because any feedback (even negative) is appreciated. Thank you!**

 **Until the very end,**

 **CarverEdlundtheLast**


	9. Out of the Frying Pan

**A/N: Once again, I'm sorry it's been so long between updates! Honestly, this story just isn't as easy to write as it was when we started, but I promise that it won't be abandoned. I actually felt obliged to get another chapter posted because I'm reading The Hobbit for school, which has been really fun, since this is my sixth time reading it… Anyway, I'd really appreciate some reviews telling me where to go, but thanks so much to anyone who's followed/favorited – it really means a lot. I spent about an hour staring at the map at the beginning of The Hobbit trying to decide where they should go next, so if you're a little confused with locations, just take a look at that. Somehow, I can remember Middle-earth's geography better than Earth's... :)**

 **Thank you to Jayjay0815 for all the support, and to Guest for leaving a such a nice review, as well as ChinaxJapan101, Rose Nieman-Black-Targeryen, Tar-Ancalimae, grace-adalyn, jocahill, justcallmek, selenastarsparrow1230, Crazygirl8243, and bubblettrocks for following/favoriting. It really means a lot, you guys! :)**

 **Disclaimer: I can't even imagine what Middle-earth would have come to if I owned it. As it is, I'm honestly glad I don't. You probably should be, too… :)**

* * *

Chapter Eight

Out of the Frying Pan...

The twilight seemed to hold its breath as they stood in front of the frozen river, eyes wide and senses straining for any proof that what they were seeing wasn't real. There was none to be found. Waves of raging water which had so recently been crashing against the shore glinted in the orange light, somehow menacing in their lack of power. Ash gave another nervous glance in the direction of her companions, not daring to return had gaze to the river.

"You see it, too, right?" Koran asked, albeit a bit apprehensively.

Ash hit his arm. "Of course we see it! But, just to clarify... 'It', meaning the frozen river, right?"

The remainder of the companions spared her exasperated looks, still focusing mainly on the river.

Silan was almost glaring at it, clearly puzzled. "That... Shouldn't be possible."

"It's not... But... I guess it has to be. What else do you have to explain _this_?" Aneare demanded.

"Why me! I don't know better than any of you!"

Ash grinned. "So are you admitting that we're all intellectually equal?" She asked with a smirk.

Silan gave her a mock-disturbed look. "I'd _never_."

Kiron held up a hand. "I object!"

Ash and Silan looked up expectantly, while Aneare watched with interest and Koran nodded as his brother spoke.

Kiron seemed to realize that all eyes were on him, waiting. "Oh!" came the startled reply. "Okay... I object to being grouped with Ash. We all know she has the least sanity of all of us."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Really?" She asked, clearly amused. "Please elaborate."

Koran joined his brother in his testimony. "Well, I mean... Aneare's a close second."

Ash just gestured for him to go on.

"Well, it's also not as-" Kiron was cut off by Silan, who had seemingly remembered the problem at hand.

"Can we please turn our attention back to the frozen river?"

They all nodded, though rather reluctantly.

"What more's there to see? It's frozen; not much to do about it," Koran pointed out.

"We could try to figure out how, exactly, a very large, very fast-moving river is frozen in the middle of _Yavannie!_ " Aneare pointed out.

Silan nodded. " _Or_ try to see if it's safe to cross. We do have to get to the other side somehow, and I'd rather risk the Enchanted River frozen than in a boat that we don't even have."

Ash shrugged with a grin. "Or not..."

Aneare directed a green-eyed glare in her direction, while Kiron and Koran looked concerned.

"Don't start..." Koran groaned, looking at the two of them.

Silan gave a wicked grin. "Too late. Your fears have been realized."

Ash glared at all of her companions, ready to start yelling over the roar of the river.

The river...

Ash turned around so quickly she snagged her long braid in a bush, but wrestled herself free just in time to let the yell that had been slowly building free. "Would you idiots quit complaining about me and look at the river?"

Although not delivered in the gentlest of ways, the message had gotten through to the group. They found themselves, once again, standing on the banks of the river, this time barely avoiding being soaked with mist as the water tumbled downstream, cascading ever onward. The five of them openly stared at the once-frozen river, all previous arguments forgotten. If it weren't for the looks on all of their faces, they would have scarcely believed it had ever been frozen; even as it was, they had doubts. It was only once they had gotten over the initial shock of it that the consequences finally registered.

Ash groaned. "Well, that'll be fun to cross, now that we can't just walk across it."

Kiron grinned. "I vote we send Ash to find out if the river is really enchanted," he volunteered.

Silan raised an eyebrow. "Not that I dislike the idea, but it wouldn't be of much use to us. Even if it's not enchanted, the current's still too strong to get across."

The five of them contemplated this problem, realizing that they might just have reached the end of their adventure early. They all knew that it wouldn't do much good to turn back, seeing as they were already over halfway through the forest. They couldn't stray off the path to find another way across the river (though it was doubtful there even was one), and couldn't get out of the forest any other way.

Kiron looked thoughtful. "Couldn't we go off the path and cut through the forest as a shortcut?"

He was met with four incredulous glares, all seeming to say the same thing. Aneare snorted. "That's the worst thing we could possibly do in this situation!"

Ash nodded. "You never stray off the path! Haven't you learned anything from all the stories of travelers getting lost in Mirkwood?"

Kiron shrugged. "I guess..."

Silan raised an eyebrow and laughed. "You've heard them. You've never actually listened."

Kiron nodded earnestly, and that was the end of the conversation.

There was quite a bit of debate on the topic in the hours that followed. Since they were no longer in possession of a map, many arguments were brought about in simply remembering the nearest civilization, save the Elven King's Halls, since they were trying to get away from there in the first place. None of this was helped by the fact that none of them had ever actually left Mirkwood, and therefore weren't at all familiar with the surrounding land.

From what Ash remembered of the land surrounding Mirkwood, past the Forest Gate lay Green River, and to the west of that Rivendell. To Silan, beyond the Forest gate lay the house of Beorn (whom none of them save Silan had ever heard of), and to the west Carrock, the Misty Mountains, then Rivendell. To Kiron (who's lack of skill in geography was rather infamous), west was the way from whence they had come, and the Forest Gate was at the northeast corner of Mirkwood. To Koran, west of the Forest Gate was Grear River, and then Rivendell. To Aneare, the antics of the group were quite ridiculous, and she tried to explain that they had to cross another river and then get through mountains to reach Rivendell, though she knew not their names.

In actuality, they had to cross the Enchanted River to continue along the Elf Path, then from the Forest Gate cross the Grear River, and journey through the Misty Mountains. From there, they had to continue southwest to the hidden valley of Rivendell. Of course, none of them were aware of this, however seemed to have put enough together to at least get out of the forest, which was what they needed at that moment. If only they could cross the river...

"Do you think we could build a raft?" Ash asked, after hours of despondent plotting.

The orange light that had begun to break through the trees was gone, replaced by the cold light of the stars. The previous night, they had been trying to sleep hours earlier. Now, however, the darkness of the forest had lost its control over them, and they sat scheming under the clear sky. The moon, which had so blatantly refused to show the night before, shone brightly, and could be seen even through the once-menacing canopy of trees.

"Out of what? These trees are thicker than us!" Koran moaned.

Silan shrugged. "That doesn't mean we can't cut through them."

Aneare glared. "Yes, it does."

"Well, that doesn't mean we can't try. We could use some of the thinner, higher branches."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "And how do you suggest we get up there? Last I checked, none of us now any spells to make you fly."

Silan grinned at her. "Remember all those times you bet me you could climb higher than me?"

 **. . .**

The night had grown thicker, silence creeping into the inky black of the night. Four figures stood with their eyes trained on the top of the tree canopy, senses straining for any sign that the situation had changed. It had not.

A shriek cut through the night, followed by a volley of curses. Silan raised an eyebrow.

"Ash? You still up there?"

They all waited expectantly, albeit a bit cautiously. They were met with more cursing.

"I can't really go anywhere, can I?" Ash's voice called down.

Koran rolled his eyes. "Aw, c'mon. It's not so bad. At least you haven't fallen yet."

Aneare snorted, her voice just loud enough fro Ash to hear, "Yet."

Silan shook his head. "Are you sending it down, then? Preferably not on one of us this time."

This had been going on for quite a while now, and they had discovered that the branches of the trees were not nearly as easy to break as one might assume. When Ash finally did manage to get one, it was only from practically dangling from it, and then nearly falling when the branch finally gave. It had been an excellent source of amusement for those lucky enough to have their feet on solid ground, however they did occasionally need to watch for falling branches. Even weaponless and stranded in a tree, Ash wasn't entirely defenseless.

A branch tumbled down from the dark blanket of leaves above, very narrowly missing Silan's head. Kiron glanced up nervously.

"Should we really have sent her up there? Now she not only has the means, but also the proper mindset to pick us off from up above," he pointed out.

Silan shrugged. "That depends on how fast you are. Anyway, you don't really have reason to worry, seeing as I'm her primary target."

There was a rustling in the branches. "And whose fault is that?" Ash called down, still annoyed that she had been sent up there. Although, looking back, she supposed that it served as revenge for all the times that she had raced Silan up the tallest tree in the forest, only to duck out of the way as a guard walked by, leaving him to fend for himself.

Silan gave an annoyed glance upward, however managed to refrain from responding, lest another branch 'fall' too close to him to avoid. There had been a couple of very narrow misses.

"Maybe don't answer that..." Koran suggested.

Silan nodded with a look that very clearly said that he hadn't even considered it. Koran shrugged.

"Hey, couldn't let you meet your end by Ash's hand. Especially by having her drop a branch on you. Very undignified." They all laughed, each appreciating the fact that it had come to the point where their normal conversations involved the likelihood of Silan facing "death by branch".

And so there was silence for a while, which was a considerably unusual occurrence when all of them were gathered. It was broken only by a few loud creaks and cracks as Ash managed to break more of the large branches off of the tree. The four on the ground set the branches in haphazard, uneven rows, trying to work out the structure for the raft. Aneare seemed to be the only one who had any skill in this area, so the other three spent most of the night bothering their friend in the trees. It was no longer even night by technicality when it was decided that they should abandon the task for the night to spend the remaining dark hours for rest.

Ash endured relentless teasing after falling out of the tree while climbing down, thankfully not from very high, and narrowly missing a sinkhole. After that, things really did quiet down for the night. They all took comfort in the pale, almost ghostly light of the moon, and none failed to notice the next morning that it was still up, though fading to the light.

 **. . .**

"Hey, Kiron, do you think we're going to need to leave anybody behind?"

"You know, Koran, Ash just might be too tall to fit with the rest of us..." Kiron grinned, dragging a branch over to the structure that they had made earlier that morning. The raft was nearly finished, although they were all secretly wondering whether it would actually work. It looked like the sort of thing they would have built when they were younger to put in a river and race, however never actually put anything of value in it. They had done their best to line it with cloaks and whatever else they could find that was ever marginally water-resistant, but were all still pretty doubtful.

Ash shook her head. "We'll be lucky if this thing can carry one of us."

Silan nodded. "So, naturally, we'll try to make it carry five."

Ash sighed, looking the raft over. "Well, we could try to-"

She was cut off by the sound of a twig snapping up in the trees. Instincts acquired from years of sneaking off to hunt goblins or orcs surfaced, and all five of them stood, tense and alert, weapons already out. They all scanned the area, straining to see anything that might indicate an enemy in the woods.

They didn't see the spiders until it was too late.

Ash made a noise that could've been a mix between a shriek and a groan as one launched itself off a branch, only to be met with an arrow through one of its eyes at the last minute. A second of silence passed, both sides contemplating their next move. At the same time, both sides sprang into action.

The forest was brought to life with the sounds of battle; bows singing, swords meeting the armored shells of the spiders, the screeches of the spiders, and the frantic yells of the young elves.

"We're being cornered!"

"Don't waste your arrows! Every shot counts!"

"Head to the raft!"

Ash, who had suggested the raft, was met with four incredulous stares. Silan gave an attempt at a laugh, however was cut off by another wave of the spiders. "I thought," he panted, "that we'd be lucky-" he turned away to stab a spider that had been ready to pounce on Kiron, "- to fit one of us!"

Ash motioned to the spiders. "Well, I'm currently liking the raft better than the alternative!" There was no response, however there seemed to be a mutual agreement that the raft was probably the safest way out. The five of them were nearly surrounded, and they had nowhere to go but the river. Unfortunately, the spiders, who were quite a bit smarter than the elves gave them credit for, seemed to realize this, and were stubbornly blocking the way to said raft.

The five of them began to fight their way through the sea of spiders toward the river, however couldn't actually get through; the spiders dropped out of the trees, trying to catch them in their silken webs, and replaced any of the felled spiders faster than they could be killed.

"We have to try something else! This isn't working." Ash yelled, kicking a dying spider aside, though she almost tripped on it in the process.

Koran looked annoyed. "No kidding!" He yelled, just as he was pulled down by a web. He managed to cut his way out, however not as easily as he would have liked.

"Would you two focus?" Kiron called, aggravated.

Ash glared, although it was rather hard to keep her eyes in one place for long in the midst of the battle. "Oh, coming from you, that's-" whatever Ash was about to say was, regrettably, lost in the battle as she dove out of the way of a knife that had presumably been knocked out of one of their hands.

Silan and Aneare just shook their heads at them and kept fighting.

They all ducked as an arrow whizzed past, meeting a spider squarely in the center of its... face, for lack of a more suitable word. Ash was about to turn to briefly compliment the archer's aim when she noticed the type of arrow that protruded from between the spider's eyes. It was a real arrow, the kind the warriors carried, not the homemade ones the five of them settled for, since they technically weren't supposed to have need for proper weapons. It very clearly didn't belong to any of them.

Ash was about to turn her attention back to the battle when a spider dropped down in front of her. She raised her bow; fortunately, she had a decent shot. Unfortunately, she was out of arrows. She stumbled back, trying to reach the knife that she had ducked earlier and tripping over a root in her haste. Before she could get anywhere, an arrow tip emerged from the spider. Once again, it wasn't one of theirs... Ash whirled around, trying to find the mysterious archer. Before she could do anything, however, she found herself being yanked up and roughly dragged away, kicking and screaming.

"The things you get yourselves into..." Was all she heard before she was unceremoniously dropped near the riverbank, just in front of Silan, Kiron, and Aneare, who were all scrambling to push the raft into the river.

"Well, we'd better hope it floats!" Kiron said with a devious grin.

"Koran!" Silan shouted, looking to the elf who was, at that moment, trying to fight off four spiders at once with a large stick. "Come on!"

Ash scrambled to her feet and looked behind her to start yelling at whoever had dragged her over there, however stopped short when she recognized the warrior as the prince. For the second time that week, she found herself standing, flustered and guilty, in front of the heir to the throne. She wasn't given much time to take in the knowledge before she was once again grabbed and dragged toward the makeshift raft. She managed to stay on her feet that time, but still wasn't altogether happy with being quite literally dragged away from the battle.

Ash and Koran quickly joined the rest of the group in trying to push the raft to the river, however it was done without much success. Due to the raft being made of large tree branches, it was quite a bit heavier than was strictly necessary. The group found themselves glancing back at Legolas, who was holding the spiders back while they tried to get the raft into the water, and trying to pretend that they weren't at all apprehensive about the new situation. They managed to keep most of their inquiries as to exactly how much trouble they were in to themselves, at least until they were no longer in mortal danger...

The raft fell over the bank and into the river with a final heave from the group. Some toes had been run over in the process, but it still went better than they had thought it would.

Ash grinned, looking at the raft, which was holding up surprisingly well, although no one was in it yet. "Well, everybody in."

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I know that it's a long chapter (the longest one so far! Yay!), but I wanted to get the battle scene in the newest chapter, because the last one was mostly a filler, too. Sorry if it seems a little rushed, but part of this was typed on an iPhone, and the other part on one of the computers at school (Shhh! Don't tell anyone...). Please leave a review of PM if you have any suggestions, because like I said, this isn't as easy to write as it was at first. Anyway, thanks so much for reading! Hope you liked it. :)**

 **Translations:**

 **Yavannie: September**

 **Once again, thank you! :)**

 **Until the very end,**

 **CarverEdlundtheLast**


	10. And Into the River

**A/N: Hey! :) I'm back! I really am trying to get back to a more regular schedule for updating, but I still can't guarantee an update every week anymore. It'd be really nice to get some reviews telling me which direction to go with this story, though… Hint, hint… :) Tell me what you guys think about Legolas joining them on the quest! Is it okay? How should he be portrayed? I need answers! :) Ignore that rant...**

 **Anyway, thank you to Jayjay0815 for all the help and support, as well as Guest, ChinaxJapan101, Rose Nieman-Black-Targeryen, Tar-Ancalimae, grace-adalyn, jocahill, justcallmek, selenastarsparrow1230, Crazygirl18243, and bubblettrocks for following/favoriting.**

 **Disclaimer: If I owned _The Hobbit,_ everyone would have lived... Once again, we should all be thankful that I don't. :)**

* * *

Chapter Nine

... And into the River

Ash was yanked away from the edge of the raft three times before they were even out of site of the spiders. They still kept their heads low, as the spiders were chasing them along the shoreline, but they were fast falling behind. With six of them, they had an interesting time trying to keep the raft level, and it wasn't helped by the fact that Ash seemed to be fascinated with the river, and spent half the time leaning over the edge trying to spot a fish. Eventually, it was decided by the group that she would be sandwiched in between them, an idea which Kiron, who had been in that place before, supported whole-heartedly. The river roared past them, drowning out any attempts at conversation.

Aneare's cries of, "We have to try to get to the bank!" could not be heard over the rushing water, however they all caught on eventually, realizing that if they didn't make it to the other side before the tide took them, it could mean taking a serious detour. The task was quite a bit harder than had been expected, seeing as the group was sorely lacking in paddles or oars of any kind. Kiron, Koran, and Ash attempted to use their boots as oars, and began paddling madly with them, only for Kiron to lose one of his shoes to the current.

"Hey, Silan?" Kiron shouted over the river, nervously glancing at his friend. Silan sighed and gave no reply, but looked at Kiron expectantly. "Can I borrow a pair of boots?"

Silan only glowered in return.

They eventually resorted to breaking branches off of the already dangerously-fragile raft to try to steer themselves to the other side, but eventually they did make it close enough to the riverbank to grab a root and pull themselves closer to shore. It proved to be quite difficult to get the raft close enough to actually get off, and the decision was made (by Ash and Aneare) to take a leap of faith, quite literally, and hope for the best. They almost lost both Koran and Ash after deciding that jumping would be the best option, but still made it out relatively unscathed, which was a better outcome than had been anticipated. It was once they were all once again on land that they began to encounter problems.

"We're alive!" Kiron yelled with a dramatic but ungraceful fall to the ground.

Silan laughed, glancing at the group. "That's relatively surprising."

They were battered and bruised, and all had suffered at least minimal cuts from the battle (with the exception of Legolas, although he was temporarily - and selectively, for some - forgotten by the children) and the twigs and dirt that they had picked up in the forest seemed a permanent part of their persons, but they were alive.

Ash grimaced and looked to the raft, which had not fared as well as them; it had been quickly yanked onto shore when the final person had jumped, and the impact of the raging river could be seen quite clearly. She gave it a disdainful glare.

"I can't believe we trusted _that_ with our lives."

Koran grinned. "Those are my thoughts every time we follow one of your plans."

Ash continued to glare, though it was redirected to focus on Koran. "Hey, disagree with them all you like, but my plans are what's kept you out of the dungeons on the rare occasions that you don't get caught."

Silan opened his mouth to reply, however refrained upon seeing the amused yet wary look on Legolas's face. "Now may not be the best time to discuss strategies to avoid capture..." He suggested, however was met with only a grins and shrugs from the group.

"Better now than from in the dungeons," Aneare pointed out.

Ash looked genuinely curious. "And you would know?" She inquired, trying to hide her interest.

Koran answered before Aneare could. "She probably knows the dungeons better than we do," he admitted with an almost proud glance at his sister.

Kiron nodded. "Although the first couple times, we were the ones who got her caught..."

Aneare raised an eyebrow. "'The first couple times?' Try nearly half!"

Kiron waved a hand dismissively.

"The guards don't know the difference, therefore I don't care," Koran agreed with a smirk. It seemed to be a phrase they used often around their sister...

Silan once again attempted to steer the conversation away from dangerous territory. "Can we have this conversation later? C'mon! It's not like we don't have better things to talk about! I mean, anyone even remember the frozen river? That's actually a decent conversation to have in front of the prince... Talking about all the times we've been thrown in jail isn't."

It was at that point that Legolas joined the conversation, though it was more to stir up a bit of trouble than he was likely to admit. "'We'? Am I to take that to mean that you are no stranger to the dungeons, either?"

Silan began to come up with a clumsy excuse when he was cut off by Ash, who sported a devious grin on her face.

"Oh, yes. He's no stranger to orc hunts, either. None of us are."

Silan stared at Ash like she'd gone mad, which, in all fairness, wasn't altogether out of the question, at least according to Kiron and Koran.

Ash just shrugged. "We've been caught wandering around Mirkwood without permission, miles away from the Elvenking's Halls. It really can't get much worse, so I figure I might as well make you suffer with us."

Silan smiled wryly. "Isn't that what friends are for?"

"The best ones."

The five of them allowed themselves a moment of laughter before turning to face the Prince. Aneare looked up defiantly. "So... are you going to try to make us go back?"

Legolas had to hold back a laugh; The way she had said " _try_ to" had not been lost on him. "That depends on the nature of your... _Quest."_ He decided.

"What of it?" Koran asked, with little of the timidness he typically feigned in front of royalty.

He was met with a raised eyebrow, and an expression which might have been amused or annoyed. There really wasn't a way to know.

"Why? Why, exactly, have five Elflings with promising futures as both warriors and diplomats left the kingdom in favor of the dark forest? What are you chasing?"

Kiron crossed his arms defensively. "We aren't _chasing_ anything." They all nodded in agreement, stubbornness winning out over the initial wariness of royalty.

"Ah. So, then, what is it that you're running from?"

Kiron deflated a bit. "Well, I suppose that chasing would be the more accurate of the two, but in any case, we have everything under control."

"Then it will not trouble you to calmly explain the nature of the chase."

"It's still not a chase," Kiron replied rather nonchalantly.

"Then I am afraid that you are, in fact, running from something," Legolas said, although he didn't seem to be fully focused on the conversation.

"Actually, it's more of a chase."

 **. . .**

They spent the next three hours discussing (or arguing about, depending on one's point of view) the frozen river. They had since moved past discussing the nature of their departure from their home, however hadn't yet resolved what exactly Legolas was going to do about it. They also hadn't yet revealed the nature of the quest, which the prince did not fail to notice.

"It wasn't a hallucination! We all saw it!" Ash insisted again, and although they were all fairly certain she was right, Silan thought that the possibility should at least be addressed.

"The fact that it could be seen doesn't necessarily make it real," Legolas pointed out. Ash shot him an annoyed look before realizing who it was and trying to hide it, however without much actual effort or change. Silan's rapidly developing theory was that he and Legolas were too similar for her to suppress all of her hostile (but somehow harmless) tendencies.

"And the fact that it's impossible doesn't mean it isn't real," Ash countered after taking a bit too much time to think it over.

Koran laughed. "A little slow with the comeback, eh?"

Ash glared. "The speed with which retorts are delivered depends upon the status of the victim."

Aneare grinned. "I guess the fact that you were so much faster that time proves it."

"Nah; Some people you just know so well that it really doesn't take much thought anymore."

Koran raised an eyebrow. "Then should I be offended, or...?"

"Take it however you want," Ash shrugged, "Just don't expect anything different."

Silan sighed. "Can we please -"

"No," Ash interrupted.

"You don't even -"

"Yes, I do."

"Well, then how -" Silan was cut off this time by a laugh. He glared at Kiron.

Kiron shrunk back a little, but continued to chuckle. Legolas watched the conversation that followed silently, although was more amused by it than he let on.

Both Silan and Ash glared at him, though they were mostly inquisitive.

"So?" Aneare asked, joining the fast-growing group that was looking at Kiron like he was crazy.

"So what?"

"What's this about?" Ash asked, sounding less amused than Aneare.

"Umm..."

"It's in your best interest to talk. You now have Silan, me, and Aneare against you; I'd explain."

Kiron shrugged, though it wasn't as nonchalant as he would have liked to think. "It's just, at this point, Ash just _knows_." He mumbled something after, however Legolas was the only one to catch it. He raised an eyebrow amusedly.

Ash looked over, not failing to notice his amusement. "What?" She asked cautiously. She was met with silence from Legolas and laughter from Kiron, as well as, rather suspiciously, his brother. Said brother hadn't actually heard what was said, however had seemingly drawn his own conclusions, no matter the validity.

Silan glared at the two brothers in question. "I didn't catch that. Come again?"

"Nothing," Kiron insisted. "You two need to get your ears checked. Aneare didn't hear anything, did she?"

Said elf looked a bit startled, however quickly recovered. "Hearing is a funny thing, you know. Anything can be misheard, for the right price..." Was the only support they got. In truth, that was as close to neutrality as she got.

Ash gave a dramatic sigh. "Fine, then. I guess that I'll go to my grave (which might be sooner than anticipated, in the current circumstances) with no knowledge of whatever it was that-"

It was at that point that she cut off, and lunged forward, and soon had Kiron in a head lock. Legolas, who hadn't had much experience with their group in the past, looked mildly surprised at the sudden turn things had taken, though still looked to be mostly disinterested. The initial strike led to a large scuffle breaking out among them. Aneare appeared to be fighting for no one but herself, while Ash and Silan had forged an alliance against Kiron and Koran. They were, apparently, quite good with swords (or in their case, sticks), as that was the chosen weapon for the duel. No side appeared to be winning.

"We shall make you our prisoners!" Koran shouted with a grin as he ducked a swing from Ash. "We'll see how you like it, Silan!"

"Gladly," Silan retorted as he blocked an attack from Aneare. "You know how good Ash is at planning escapes."

"But we know your tactics," Koran pointed out, pushing Silan back toward the river.

Aneare gave a wicked grin. "Not mine!" She yelled as she kicked Kiron's feet out from under him. She held her "sword" to his neck, and Kiron proceeded to fake an extremely dramatic death (which involved quite a bit of "Avenge me!'s" and dying oaths), and finally lay still. The "lay still" part of it lasted about two minutes, which was actually quite a long time for him.

Ash was the next to die at the hands of Aneare, which she was absolutely livid about, but did manage to do a better job of lying still than Koran. Silan, Aneare, and Koran were engaged in a fierce battle, and it appeared that Aneare had still not chosen a side. She would assist Koran in cornering Silan, only to turn the tide and jump to Silan's aid. It made for an extremely interesting battle, to say the least.

"This is better than combat school!" Koran grinned, lurching forward as he tried to avoid a fierce swing delivered by Aneare.

"But probably a lot more dangerous..." Silan pointed out, and winced as he was pushed into a tree.

"So, then, much better," Aneare concluded with a grin.

Ash broke character as she was nearly stepped on by Koran, and Kiron was trying to grab Silan's ankles when he thought no one was looking. Legolas watched the proceedings with a slightly interested amusement, acknowledging the fact that they all knew many sword maneuvers only used on the orc hunts or in real battles, yet claimed that they had never snuck off to witness any. He had always suspected the group, but upon seeing them in actual combat (or as close to it as they had gotten) when he wasn't preoccupied with spiders, he realized that it probably happened more often than he'd like to believe.

"Hey, Aneare, you can have some of my arrows if you'll help me kill your brother," Silan offered.

"What is she, a mercenary?" Koran demanded. "She wouldn't betray her own -"

"Sold!" Aneare shouted happily. "I expect payment immediately after the battle."

The two of them cornered Koran against the river, and soon Silan managed to disarm their remaining opponent. Still, Koran refused to surrender, and jumped out of the way whenever one of them would try to deliver the "death blow". In the end, the fight turned to more a battle of spells which none of them had the power to perform, and both Ash and Kiron were miraculously resurrected. Koran was still surrounded and defenseless, but fought like a cornered dwarf (which is to say exceedingly well...).

They all fought along the side of the river, though were fast growing tired of the battle, and any of the actual fighting tactics which had been earlier put to use were abandoned for sloppy tackles and good-natured shoves.

"Treaty?" Ash suggested after about twenty minutes of this.

"Sure..."

"Maybe..."

"Never!"

The responses were varied, to say the least. Ash stood on the edge of the river, having been pushed back farther than she would have liked, and Silan fought beside her. She ducked a blow as it was delivered and attempted to dodge another, however slipped on the muddy ground near the river and was grabbed by Silan (just in time, too) to keep from falling in the Enchanted River. At this, three sticks that had been swinging towards either of them abruptly halted in air, however not fast enough. Ash was just regaining her balance and most likely getting ready to snap at Silan for grabbing one of her hands when a stick went hurtling toward her, and she managed to duck it, though not gracefully. Unfortunately, Silan did not.

There wasn't time enough for any of them to process what was happening, no less do something about it, and so it was approximately three seconds after they heard the splash that the frantic yelling started.

* * *

 **A/N: So sorry for the little** **cliffhanger! Well, that's to those of you who know what happens when you fall into the Enchanted River. I'll just let the others be blissfully unaware 'till next chapter, lol. Anyway, thanks for reading! Please feel free to leave a review telling me what you think, because a little advice is always nice.**

 **I also sort of feel like Ash and Aneare clash a little bit character-wise, meaning they're almost too similar, so if you have any suggestions please feel free to give them. I was also wondering what you guys think about Silan/Ash, because Jayjay0815 gave me a little nudge in that direction, and I've since decided that I like it, but still want to know what you think. Also, expect to see some big brotherly-Legolas in later chapters, because, once again, Jayjay0815 gave me an idea I really liked. Thanks! :)**

 **Anyway, thank you guys so much for reading; I hope you like what's to come!**

 **Until the very end,**

 **CarverEdlundtheLast**


	11. There and Back Again

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the long delay! I have no excuse other than laziness, poor time management (aka procrastination), and writer's block. I honestly have been trying to get this chapter up, but the first attempts at getting it written ended in a couple minutes of staring blankly at my computer screen, then hours of browsing fan fiction. Like I said; Poor time management.** **As for the title of this chapter... It was just too perfect; I couldn't resist. :)**

 **With that said, thank you so much to** **Jayjay0815 (I hope you like the Ash/Silan scene!) for all the help and support (and the very kind reviews), as well as Guest for the review, and ChinaxJapan101, Rose Nieman-Black-Targeryen, Tar-Ancalimae, grace-adalyn, jocahill, justcallmek, selenastarsparrow1230, Crazygirl18243, and bubblettrocks for following/favoriting. It really means a lot! :)**

 **Disclaimer: Seeing as it's fairly obvious that I am not J.R.R Tolkien, it really shouldn't be strictly necessary for me to point out that I don't own _The Hobbit_ or Middle-earth and its inhabitants.**

* * *

Chapter Ten

There and Back Again

Ash hit the water just after Silan. It hadn't exactly been a conscious choice, but she had tried to keep him from falling, which had ended in both of them being pulled along the banks by the raging current. They could both feel the enchantments taking effect as soon as they hit the water, and fought stubbornly against it. Silan lost Ash fairly quickly after falling, and soon lost any sense of direction. Every now and then he would hit something (and vaguely wonder if it was Ash) and be pushed away from the shore until he didn't even know which way was up.

Sometimes there would be a rare moment in which his head broke the surface, but that always ended far too soon, and with him inhaling water. As the charms of the river finally crept their way into his thoughts, it became harder and harder to move, until he was just floating with the current of the river, not reacting when he would crash into a rock or piece of driftwood. Something solid rammed against him, and he had the brief sense of being pulled down toward the bottom of the river, while, in fact, it was the opposite.

As he was dragged from the river, he was very vaguely aware of another form being pulled out with him, and the last thing he was consciously aware of was a flash of red, and then something cold lying against him.

 **. . .**

" _Malia ten' laure_?"

Silan opened his eyes with a start. The sun had turned to the west, but night hadn't yet fallen. Koran stood in front of him, flask in hand. "What?"

" _Malia ten' laur._ Would you -"

"I know what you said! Why in the world... The first thing you do after I wake up from a powerful enchantment is offer me mead." Silan shook his head and laughed.

Koran shrugged, still holding out the flask. "So?"

Silan laughed, accepting it. "Can't hurt."

Kiron gave him a scrutinizing once-over, then turned to look at Koran. "I told you he's still shaking off the enchantment."

"Wait," Silan demanded, "What does my accepting this have to do with my wellbeing?"

Kiron grinned. "Because if you were fully recovered, you'd have realized that your brother's here."

Silan choked. Aneare dropped down from a tree, wearing an amused smile. "That was cruel," she laughed.

"You could have stopped it," Koran pointed out.

"Oh, but why would I?" She turned to Silan. "Legolas is with Ash, making sure she doesn't get herself killed collecting firewood."

"Does somebody want to make sure she doesn't kill _him_ collecting firewood," Silan asked.

Aneare shrugged. "I don't know; I mean, he can't scold you if Ash leaves him somewhere in the forest."

Silan shook his head with a laugh. "We should make sure they're back before dark," he said as he stood up. Spots danced in his eyes for a couple of seconds, but he felt steady enough to walk. "Are you coming?"

"If it means I get my flask back sooner," Koran grinned.

They found them fairly quickly, mostly due to Ash's laughter, which could be heard from some ways off.

Silan eyed her suspiciously. "What'd you do?"

Ash held up her hands. "Nothing, I swear!"

Silan raised an eyebrow skeptically, but didn't respond.

"So, then, what were you laughing at?" Kiron asked. "Because, in my experience, your laughter is a sign of oncoming peril."

Ash glanced at Legolas, who watched them with an amused smile. "It's just... Interesting to hear stories of some of our more foolhardy adventures from an outsider's point of view."

"Such as?" Aneare asked, curiously but also cautiously.

Ash grinned. "The time we saw fit to break into the dungeons from the castle roof, not taking into account the fact that the dungeon is in the lowest part of the castle."

Legolas laughed. "All that the inhabitants of the castle noticed were strange noises from the roof, until Koran fell through."

This earned several reminiscent laughs from the group.

"And, for all our trouble, we still ended up in the dungeons, in our efforts to try to find an escape from them," Silan concluded.

Ash turned toward the camp. "Well, since I evidently can't go anywhere without you four following me like I'm a criminal, should we head back to camp and see if we can't get a fire started?"

There were several nods of assent from the group, however Kiron pulled a face. "Fine, but if we can't get a fire started with the flint, this time someone else has to cast the spell; Last time I nearly lost an eyebrow..."

 **. . .**

Smoke spiraled upward toward the sky, which was painted with the glaringly bright colors of twilight. A small, somewhat feeble fire shone through the trees of Mirkwood, and around it several elves sat, in quiet contentment. Ash and Silan sat pondering the nature of their alleged "valiant rescue" from the river (which had really been the result of some quick, slightly panicked thinking and a vine pulled from a nearby tree), which they had a considerable amount of trouble believing had actually worked. Kiron, Koran, and Aneare had just finished telling it in very exaggerated detail, and Legolas watched the five elflings in uninterested amusement.

The topic of their return home loomed somewhat ominously in the air, but no one had breached the topic thus far.

Kiron turned to Legolas with a smirk on his face. "So, are you going to tell us embarrassing stories about Silan when he was younger? That's what brothers are for, isn't it?"

Legolas responded with a slightly startled expression, and Silan looked on in horror. The others leaned in closer, suddenly deeply interested in the conversation.

"No."

One incredibly relieved look, followed by four incredibly disappointed ones, were cast toward the Elf. "But... Why?" Koran asked, expression similar to that of a hobbit that has been denied second breakfast.

"You've been acquainted with him long enough to have a part in most of those stories," Legolas pointed out.

" _Most_ ," Kiron pouted.

Legolas shook his head amusedly, but offered no reply.

Silan gave a nervous smile, trying to recover from the near-disaster. "He's probably right, though. I mean, you've influenced me or been with me for quite a few of the stupider decisions in my life."

Ash gave a sarcastic grin. "Glad to help."

"I know you are," Silan laughed. "That's why the three of you have had such large roles in most of my misadventures."

"Yes, but, if it weren't for us, you would have been caught a lot more," Koran offered.

"There would be nothing for me to be caught doing, if it weren't for you," Silan countered with a laugh.

"We all know that's not true. I can't exactly see you as the type of Prince who is greatly respected among diplomats and revered among nobles and scholars," Ash added.

"So then what type of prince am I?"

Ash shrugged. "The type who's adored by wretches and applauded by scoundrels, though that isn't necessarily a bad thing."

Silan studied Ash's challenging glare before seemingly deciding something. "I suppose not."

Aneare looked between them with a raised eyebrow. "You know, I wasn't there for most of those stories..."

 **. . .**

Ash sat at the foot of a gnarled tree, eyes searching for the night through the canopy of ancient trees. The pale light of the moon could be seen through a small break in the foliage, spectral and lonely in the cold night. She kept her gaze on the white light, if only to help stay awake until the next of their group came to relieve her of watch duty. She knew that she should probably wake someone up before she put the group at risk by falling asleep, but she didn't want to just yet. More specifically, she didn't want to leave the patch of moonlight to stumble over roots and branches in the darkness and try her best to just wake one elf; stealth wasn't exactly her strong point.

She was saved from such an excursion by the snapping of a twig. She pulled her stiff body to her feet with suppressed groans and cautiously (though not quietly) walked over to investigate. Upon discovering the source of the noise, she huffed in annoyance.

"What are you doing up?" She hissed.

"Coming to check up on you; the last guard change could have been hours ago," Silan responded, eyeing her warily. A tired, annoyed Ash was the last thing he wanted to be dealing with right then.

"You scared me half to death," She accused. "You could have been a spider, or even a rogue orc!"

Silan laughed. "So, knowing full well that it could be dangerous, you walked over unarmed, and making as much noise as an army?"

Ash sighed and sat down, with her back against a tree once again. "Maybe I had a defensive spell on the tip of my tongue," She retorted, though it was a bit halfhearted.

"Really?" Silan chuckled.

Ash laughed softly. "You know I didn't. I guess I just wasn't thinking, or... It just didn't really register that it could be a threat. I don't know."

"You... Should probably get some sleep."

Ash hit his arm. "That's not to say I can't defend myself."

"Oh, I know," Silan said with a snicker.

Ash glanced at Silan, and, for once, had no witty retort. The two fell quiet, the silence soon penetrated only by the sounds of the night.

"So..." Ash began awkwardly.

Silan laughed. "So."

Ash gave a mock glare. "So... Why did you... I mean..." She sighed.

"Does it bother you that I tried to keep you from falling into the river?" he asked wryly. "Because most people wouldn't consider it to be a disservice."

"No! That's not... Ugh. You're impossible," she complained. "I'm not upset about that; I mean, all of us would do the same for you. I just feel bad, I guess, that I'm the reason you ended up going for a swim in an almost-poison river. I think that most people would consider _that_ to be a disservice."

Silan shugged. "I've had worse. I've probably had worse at your hands."

Ash hit him again. "But you didn't have to. I mean, I don't want people to think that I'm just another Elf Maiden to be protected. You least of all."

Silan raised an eyebrow and smirked. Ash's face hardened. "How many times am I going to need to hit you tonight? I'm serious. I don't want to be considered formidable just because I have the protection of the crown."

Silan shook his head. "First off, you're blowing this out of proportion. All I did was keep that stick from hitting you; I had no idea what would come of it. And secondly... I know, well, about half the kingdom knows, that you don't need to be protected. You're independent to the point of isolation sometimes, and free to the point of insanity, and you never bend to fit anything that isn't right by you. But when something doesn't bend... It breaks. That's not what any of us want for you. So, Kiron, Koran, and I... It may seem like we don't think you're capable of something, or not strong enough, but in reality we know that you can and you will, and that you'll take any measure to get it done. We just don't want you to be the one to deal with the consequences."

Ash smiled to herself, though it wasn't seen through the darkness. "'To the point of insanity', you say?"

Silan laughed. "There and back again."

Ash closed her eyes, the moonlight causing dots to dance behind her eyelids. She gave a wry smile, though it went unnoticed. "And I'd do it again."

* * *

 **A/N:** **Sorry for the short chapter! It's sort of all I've got, though. My sister's done helping me with this story and she was supposed to write every other chapter with me, so it's been a lot more writing than I planned. I'm still determined to finish, but some ideas on where to go** **next would be really nice. Also, please tell me what you think about that last scene and Ash/Silan and give me some advice on that; you guys have no idea how much your reviews mean. Thank you so much for reading! :)**

 **Until the very end,**

 **CarverEdlundtheLast**


	12. Out of the Woods

**A/N: Hope you guys liked the last chapter. I'd really, really appreciate some feedback just to know where you guys would like this to go, because, at this point, I don't know any more. :) Thank you if you've stuck with this story, and if you made it this far; it means a lot. Also, I've done some editing, so if you notice changes don't be alarmed. :)**

 **Anyway, thanks to** **Jayjay0815 for all the help and support, as well as Guest for the review, and ChinaxJapan101, Rose Nieman-Black-Targeryen, Tar-Ancalimae, grace-adalyn, jocahill, justcallmek, selenastarsparrow1230, Crazygirl18243, and bubblettrocks for following/favoriting. You guys keep this story going!**

 **Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't, and never have, owned _The Hobbit_ , or anything Middle-earth related. **

* * *

Chapter Eleven

Out of the Woods

The colors of the rising sun went unnoticed under the blanket of leaves that covered the sky of Mirkwood. The group of six Elves stood around the remains of the fire from the previous night, scrambling to pack their minimal provisions. Ash had stumbled back to camp at some point in the early morning, and seemed to be sorely regretting her decision to try to keep watch the whole night. Once all the supplies had been packed (and Kiron had been woken for the fourth time), they continued on the path which would (hopefully) lead them out of Mirkwood.

The group soon discovered that Legolas knew the forest much better than any of them, and, although the revelation of the true route out of the woods led to many grateful and joyous shouts, it also lead to many "I told you so"'s. As it turned out, they were only a short way from the forest gate, which significantly raised the overall spirit of the group. The young elves still weren't particularly keen on sharing the intention of their escapade with the Prince, although they suspected he knew a bit more than he let on.

"So is anyone going to approach the topic of the frozen river?" Aneare asked warily.

"You just did," Ash pointed out. She was met with only a glare. "But since you've brought it up, do you think that since it's the Enchanted River that it just... does that? I mean, for all we know, that could be normal. It is supposed to be enchanted."

Legolas raised an eyebrow. "A river freezing suddenly is, by no means, normal, even if it's allegedly 'enchanted.'"

"'Allegedly?' I'm fairly certain that Ash and I can confirm beyond doubt that that river is enchanted," Silan said, glancing at Ash, who huffed.

"More like cursed."

The conversation carried on as such for a few minutes, continuing but never actually getting anywhere. Legolas smiled to himself. He had already pieced together, by the young elves' unsubtle whispering and plotting, that they had happened upon a wizard, and was left to assume that it hadn't ended well. He suspected that the frozen river had been a result of said encounter, though he had no way to prove it.

Legolas interrupted the group's fascinating conversation (which, by that point, involved theoretically misused magic and stereotypically gullible guards) to try to understand more about the situation which they had landed themselves in. If they had truly angered a Wizard, the consequences would most likely be more noticeable than a frozen river in their path. Since that didn't seem to be the case, he could only assume that they had gotten the attention of a wizard, or were of some use to one, which was in general a very bad thing.

"And where do you plan to go once you've gotten out of the woods?"

The five elves immediately ceased their talking, each waiting for someone else to answer.

Kiron gave a sarcastic grin and turned to look at him. "Mordor."

Legolas raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. There were several stifled laughs from the group. "In that case, you still have a very long way to go, seeing as you're going the wrong way."

Kiron's face resembled that of a cornered Warg. "... We're not really going to Mordor..."

Legolas shook his head. "I suspected as much. So, then, where are you going?" He didn't expect an honest answer at that point, but did find the young elves reactions to questioning quite amusing.

Aneare was the first to speak. "We're going to... a certain... Undisclosed location."

"And does said undisclosed location have anything to do with your meeting a wizard?"

The group exchanged panicked glances. "Um... how... I mean... What do you mean?" Ash tried. Aneare hit her arm.

"I can honestly say that, though it would be quite fascinating, I've never met a Wizard," Aneare tried.

The rest gave vehement nods, though they weren't altogether convincing.

"And you know that this is our first time in Mirkwood. Where would we have come across a wizard? None dwell near enough to the kingdom for us to meet... Unless you know something we don't?" Silan asked, more nervously than he would have liked.

Legolas shook his head. "Is there no way to get you to admit the obvious?"

Koran shrugged. "I don't know... We can be pretty stubborn." The group, once again, nodded in unison.

"I'm beginning to suspect that you don't know where you're going, yourselves," Legolas said with a raised eyebrow.

Silan shrugged. "Well, be that as it may, we'll have it figured out fairly quickly, seeing as we should be at the Forest Gate by nightfall.."

"Freedom!" Kiron cried with a dramatic gesture. The others only laughed, although seemed to be relieved that they at least knew how to get out of the forest.

Koran nodded. "I'm not sure I could take another night in this place."

Ash slowed her pace a bit to walk beside Silan, out of earshot by Legolas. "Legolas has a point, though... Where exactly do we go once we get out of the forest?"

Silan shook his head. "None of us thought we'd make it this far."

"And our only plan, really, was to stumble upon Mithrandir, and so far that hasn't worked out particularly well," Ash pointed out, whispering so as to not confirm Legolas's suspicions.

Silan gave a wry smile. "Maybe, in this case, the unexpected really is unexpected."

Ash gave a mock scandalized face. "Don't say things like that!"

Silan laughed and retaliate with a playful shove, which Ash gladly returned. "But really, what are we going to do?" She asked, considerably more seriously this time.

She was met with only a weary sigh and helpless shrug. "We honestly have no clue what we're getting into. Even if the prophecy is talking about the Sword of Fire, and that's assuming it even exists, for all we know it could be in the depths of Mordor by now."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "That's an exaggeration... Anyway, if it's real, it can't have gotten that far."

Kiron, who had fallen behind to join their conversation, looked on confusedly. "If what's real?"

Ash brushed off the inquiry, but Silan explained the topic of the conversation quickly.

Kiron looked thoughtful. "Well, going by all the legends, my guess is that it's somewhere in the Misty Mountains."

Ash rolled her eyes. "Not a single one of the legends even mentions the Misty Mountains. Why in the world would it be there?"

Kiron scrunched up his face in thought, hazel eyes quizzical. "Are you sure? Because I could've sworn... Oh, maybe not... But isn't there some other mountain, or something around Mirkwood? Anything?"

Ash and Silan laughed at his antics, but didn't respond.

"Actually..." Silan started cautiously, "There is another mountain range north of Mirkwood. Maybe... I don't know, but it's mentioned a couple of times in the old stories."

Ash straightened up. "Wait, really? I thought that was just Kiron being Kiron."

Kiron gave an exasperated look. "At least I knew that it was _there._ "

"And neither of you ever bothered to learn the name," Silan chimed in.

"Which is...?" Kiron asked, waving a hand for Silan to continue.

"The Gr-"

"Grey Mountains!" Aneare interrupted gleefully. Silan threw his hands in the air and gave an exaggerated sigh.

"I can't win!"

Ash smirked. "No rest for the wicked."

"That's hilarious, coming from you," Silan shot back.

"I do pride myself on my sense of humor," Ash retorted sarcastically.

Silan shook his head and laughed. "Honestly, it's a bit hypocritical coming from any of us."

"Not a bad thing," Koran, who had by that point joined the rest of the group, pointed out.

The others laughed. They continued down the worn stone path, keeping their eyes ahead, but still noticing the slight changes in the scenery. The thick canopy of trees was beginning to thin out, and the little sunlight that filtered through was treated as salvation. Legolas looked back at the young elves with their faces toward the sun and gave a slight smile. They had handled the stifling darkness of Mirkwood fairly well, considering that t it was their first time facing it, but the sense of relief is always stronger than the sense of fear. He was sure that the Elves' reactions, upon reaching the Forest Gate, would be nothing short of entertaining.

 **. . .**

As expected, the sun had sunken low in the sky by the time the forest gate came in view. The group had actually been able to see some of the colors of the sunset through the leaves above their heads, and were more pleased with seeing their first sunset in quite a while than they would have thought. They group's pace increased significantly with the exit in sight, and once the path ended and grass once again muffled their footsteps, the young elves sprawled on the ground, one by one.

Legolas gave a small laugh and shook his head. "Should I take this to mean that we're setting up camp here for the night?"

He was met with expectant glances and vehement nods.

Soon enough, there was a small fire burning just beyond the forest gate, and six Elves sat around it, watching the smoke spiral into the night, floating even over the tallest trees of Mirkwood.

"So which direction do you wish to head tomorrow?" Legolas asked, hoping that they would be more forthcoming with information after putting the forest behind them. He had no such luck.

"Umm... In a North-ish... direction...?" Kiron stated, although it sounded like more of a question of how much he was allowed to reveal.

"Along the Grear River, then?"

The group gave several cautious nods.

"And you're aware that going north along the river will eventually bring you to the Grey Mountains?" Legolas asked, trying to gauge the reaction of the group.

"Judging by the silence, I'd say that you are," he concluded. He was left to wonder what exactly it was that they wanted in the Grey Mountains, but didn't expect to get any more information that night.

After a couple moments of quiet, filled in with the crackling of the fire and occasional rustling of something within the forest, Silan spoke. "We... Should probably try to sleep. Being out of Mirkwood will allow for a much faster pace than before, but being tired will not."

There were several nods of assent. "I'll take first watch," Koran volunteered.

They others nodded, already attempting to get comfortable in their bed rolls.

 **. . .**

Koran was about halfway through his watch when he heard something. He had absolutely no idea what it was that he'd heard, but knew that it didn't fit in with the regular sounds that came from the edge of the forest. He debated waking up the others, but if it turned out to be a single stray spider, he knew he'd never hear the end of it. He made sure that his sword was at his side, and with a small sigh and a cautious step forward, he went to investigate.

 **. . .**

The group woke up to yelling. Considering the tone, it wasn't altogether alarming, save for the fact that the voice yelling was most likely Koran's, and the rest of their group was around the fire. So, either Koran had finally cracked and began yelling at inanimate objects, or someone had stumbled upon their group.

They grabbed whatever weapons they could find (after waking up Kiron, who could sleep through an Orc raid if he wanted to), and ran to the edge of the forest, where Koran had been on watch. They stumbled over, groggy-eyed, holding random weapons which had been left lying about, and dragging Kiron.

Koran, who had been hoping to alert the group of the newest complication, was not pleased with the state of his rescue squad.

The group was met with a flustered-looking Koran, and a Wizard.

Silan coughed. "Well... This is... Unexpected..."

Ash hit him. "That's my line," she whispered, trying her best to look incredibly offended, although not exactly succeeding.

Mithrandir gave Silan and Ash a quick glance, then seemed to find that they were not worth his time. Legolas looked to the group, genuinely surprised (and a bit startled) that they had managed to earn and keep the attention of a Wizard, and they they could, seemingly, mouth off at him without invoking his anger. He wanted to inquire as to what exactly they had done to bring this about, however knew that if this Wizard didn't want him to know, no amount of questions would receive a straight answer.

Koran continued to glare, but had been silenced by his brother.

"So... Mithrandir, what-"

The Wizard stopped him. "Please, call me Gandalf."

"Alright, Gandalf," Kiron tried again, "But what exactly-"

Kiron was stopped again. Gandalf's eyes gleamed in the moonlight, and he looked at the group with an eagerness that was almost enough to scare them.

"I hear that you are in want of a sword..."

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I've finally got the rest of the journey and final battle (sort of) mapped out, so at least I know where this is going. That's not to say updates will be more regular, though. :( Right now, this is still sort of hard to write, but I'm determined to finish it, and I'm incredibly grateful to anyone who's put up with me thus far. :)**

 **Until the very end,**

 **CarverEdlundtheLast**


	13. Battles and Answers

**A/N: Okay, so I know that it's been a ridiculous amount of time between updates, and I'm running out of excuses, but like I said, THIS STORY WILL BE FINISHED. I can't say how long that'll take, but our elflings will see the final battle. Also, I got some positive feedback on Ash/Silan as a ship, so that's sort of been developing a little.**

 **And as some of you may have noticed, I did a lot of editing, and combined the first two chapters, because looking back, not a whole lot happened in them.** **I've also made some changes to the summary and rating, because the final battle might get a little violent (nothing worse than the book, really).**

 **Anyway, thanks to anyone who's followed/favorited and given feedback and the like. You guys really have no idea how much it means to know that there are actually people enjoying the story and are willing to put up with the sporadic updates.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own _The Hobbit_ or any of its characters; Tolkien was a ****genius and I'm fangirl playing with his world.**

* * *

Chapter Twelve

Battles and Answers

The young elves stared openly at the newest addition, while Legolas spared the Wizard a wary glance. The elflings looked to each other, not quite sure how to answer.

"... I suppose we are," Silan eventually spoke up. Gandalf gave an almost imperceptible nod of his head, but otherwise seemed to be waiting for more of an explanation.

"Well, can you... help us retrieve it?" Ash asked after an uncomfortable silence settled.

"No." A branch rustled somewhere back in the forest near the gate.

Ash gave the group an exasperated look. "...So then why are you here?" Legolas casted her a warning glance before she could say anything else.

"I cannot help you retrieve the sword," Gandalf said to the bemused group, "But I can help you find it."

Kiron nodded. "Okay, um... Thank you," he said unsurely.

The wizard only shook his head gravely. "Do not thank me yet. As I am sure you have guessed, the sword is buried deep within the Grey Mountains, but others dwell there who may not take kindly to your mission. I would not have you do this, were the circumstances not so dire."

The group exchanged startled glances. "What? What... others? What makes them so dire?" Aneare demanded.

The Wizard shook his head. "All will be revealed when the time is right. Until then, I can say only this: Continue on to the mountains, and find the path which leads into them. Beware of what the prophecy has told you. War may come with the night."

"War?! It is merely a blade! Legendary maybe, but nothing more than a well-made weapon," Koran argued.

The wizard looked out of place in the bright light outside of the forest, and ancient with the outline of Mirkwood forest behind him. "How wrong you are." He turned to leave, however stopped when he passed Legolas. They exchanged a few words that none of the young elves could hear and then Legolas turned abruptly back toward the group with a troubled expression.

"Farewell for now," Gandalf called toward the group. "I expect we'll meet again before this is over."

Aneare took a quick step toward the wizard and began to ask a question, however the wizard melted into the shadows of the trees at the entrance to the forest and was gone, leaving six concerned elves in his wake.

 **. . .**

"What did he say to you?" Ash demanded for what must have been the sixth time.

Legolas shook his head. "Nothing good."

"But what was it?" Koran persisted.

Legolas sighed. "It would be in the best interest of your quest if you didn't know." He said, eying them warily. The five young elves knew how to wear a person down.

"But why?" Aneare asked exasperatedly. "Honestly, if we really wanted to, we could just stop and turn around right now if you still refuse to tell us. That's what you came after us for anyway, isn't it? To get us to go back? Why is everything suddenly so different? _What did he say to you_?"

Legolas still hesitated. He knew that the information wouldn't cause the elves to turn around, but it would cause doubt, and that could compromise their quest. The five looked at him expectantly, knowing they'd won. He sighed in defeat. "A large force of armed elves has been dispatched from Mirkwood under direction of Mithrandir. He expects that they will be needed. They march toward the Grey Mountains."

Kiron looked to be both contemplative and startled. "So there's supposed to be some great battle in the Grey Mountains? Who are we fighting? That land is desolate and barren. Nothing lives there anymore..."

"Nothing alive. Still, creatures dwell there that would see the sword kept in darkness. Creatures of shadow, that would do anything to keep the world in darkness. That they possess the sword..." Legolas shook his head.

"So we're meant to fight them, then?" Silan asked. "What is it about the sword that makes it so important that Gandalf is willing to risk lives, to risk sending an army, just to take it back?"

"I... hardly know myself. I do know this, though: The sword isn't just a blade, and the creatures that possess it certainly aren't orcs. The sword, in legend, was said to have the power to smite the darkness itself, and burn shadows. It is light. The creatures... In times long ago, they were called the Dae Rauko, or Shadow Demons, and they are the darkness. The elders have seen shadows near the mountains, crawling their way farther and farther from where they used to dwell. The darkness moves ever forward and conquers, empowered by the imprisonment of the sword. So we must take it back."

Ash kept her gaze on the ground as he talked, deep in thought. "So, essentially, the light and dark are... fighting, and the light is losing?"

Legolas seemed to consider this before nodding.

Koran gave a humorless laugh. "Good thing it's nothing serious."

The group fell into silence as they walked, the roar of the Grear River in the distance. Worn leather boots kicked up grass and weapons clinked as they walked. The leather traveling packs on their backs rubbed against their shoulders. The occasional tree rose from the ground, but compared to the forest, the land seemed almost barren. They were able to walk much faster now that they were out of the woods, but knowing what awaited in the mountains made each step seem heavy.

 **. . .**

The river came within view after two says of heading northwest as the bright blue of the sky began to turn to soft pinks and oranges, and the sun sank low in the sky. It was a welcome sight, and soon the group had scrubbed most of the dirt from their faces and refilled their water skins. Ash, Aneare, Kiron, and Koran all waded in the shallower part, however Silan still wasn't quite over his ordeal in the Enchanted River.

Ash pushed him in the river.

Legolas took watch as the group had a water war and practically tried to drown each other. Kiron and Koran teamed up and won, by what he gathered from land. He shook his head as Silan tackled Ash with a shout of "Vengeance!", but had to laugh at the antics of the group. Perhaps the Dae Rauko could strike fear into the hearts of warriors, but evidently their reputation was no match for childhood friends.

"Too bad you didn't join us; we would've taken you down in a water war," Silan said as he approached, soaking wet and shivering from the rapidly-dropping temperature.

Legolas raised an eyebrow. "Looks like you managed to have a good time without me."

Silan laughed and wrung water from his shirt. "I was tackled into the river; not exactly the definition of a good time."

Legolas smirked at his brother. "Yes, but it was Ash who did it. I would've thought you'd be fine with that."

" _Auta miqula orqu_ ," Silan glared at his brother, but Legolas had to refrain from laughing when he noticed that his cheeks turned red.

He shook his head with a slightly smug smile. "Get into dry clothes before the sun goes down, yeah? I'm responsible if you freeze to death."

Silan walked off toward the fire grumbling, although Legolas didn't think he wanted to know what he was saying. The five remaining elves emerged from the river a few moments later, equally as soaked and cold, and trudged off to change into their spare clothes.

"Don't try to dry the clothes with magic; You'll likely just set them on fire!" he called after Aneare after overhearing part of her conversation with Ash as they walked away.

His suggestion was met with cursing and groans, but no clothes had combusted by the time they all straggled back, so he took that as a good sign.

 **. . .**

They woke the next morning and continued, keeping the river close. It was a fairly late start by their standards, but the majority of the night had been spent sprawled around the fire huddled in dry cloaks trying to stay as warm as possible in the crisp night air, so the extra hour of rest was needed. They made good progress, and determined that if they continued at the same rate, they would reach the Grey Mountains by the end of the week.

Naturally, Kiron suggested slowing down.

Although they laughed and continued on, the battle that they may be met with when they arrived weighed upon them. Still, none were willing to turn back, and so the days of walking passed. They saw very few others as they walked, and even fewer the closer they got to their destination. They got lucky with the weather, for the most part. They were only about three days away from the mountains when they noticed the dark clouds in the sky.

"It's raining," Aneare complained as the first raindrops began to fall.

Kiron rolled his eyes. "We can tell."

Ash looked to Legolas. "What are we doing, then? Are we waiting it out, or pushing on? Those clouds look pretty dark..."

"Where would we wait for the storm to pass? We're in the open for at least another day," Legolas said with a sigh. "Pull your cloaks tighter around you and keep going."

The group groaned, but complied, as there really was no alternative.

As they walked, the wind picked up and rain tore at their cloaks, soaking through everything they had on. Eventually, it was determined that they had to stop, because they might lose each other in the howling wind and raging of the storm. They stayed stationary for a while, but the storm only got worse. Kiron quickly lost the group, and could hear nothing but the beating of his heart over the storm. Thunder cracked and he became aware of another noise, a scream that was far from human.

He had heard it before.

It was the battle cry of the orcs.

He cursed, trying to find his sword from somewhere within the folds of his cloak. He grasped it just in time for a body to come hurtling toward him, and almost slashed blindly with his sword before he caught sight of the familiar dark hair and aggravated expression of his sister.

Aneare swore at him and then started dragging him toward where he assumed the rest of the group had gathered, stabbing an orc as its gruesome body was illuminated in a pale flash of lightning. Sometimes he forgot how scary she could be.

Aneare gave a wicked grin. "I'm beating you three to zero."

Kiron saw movement in another flash of light and made a wild jab, and heard the dying cry of an orc. "Three to one, actually."

Aneare suddenly made a sharp turn to the left, dragging him with her. Kiron wasn't sure why he was being suddenly yanked about and was about to ask exactly that when he saw a flash of red in that direction. He laughed and shook his head, thanking every deity he knew of that Ash favored bright colored clothes, however faded the dress was after what was probably years of wear.

He covered Aneare's back as she yanked Ash toward them by the braid in her hair, which Ash did not appear to be happy about.

"Where's your sword?!" he demanded, seeing that she was unarmed.

Ash looked at the ground before yelling over the storm, "I was disarmed."

Kiron wanted to either gape or gloat, but it probably wasn't the best time.

"Anyway," Ash shouted, and then held up a hand. She muttered something under her breath and flames began to lick her palm, whipped around by the storm but not extinguished. "Burning hands!" She finished loudly.

The fire did improve the visibility marginally, however they still had no idea what they were dealing with, or exactly how many orcs there were, or where the other elves were. Kiron knew that Legolas was most likely fine, but he was worried about his brother and Silan. He could tell that Ash and Aneare were as well, but they kept their focus on watching for orcs and downing them as quickly as possible. Silan was good with a sword, and Koran was actually fairly good with magic, so they would probably be fine. He hoped.

The storm seemed to drag on for hours (and might have been hours for all he knew), and were a blur of waiting for something to jump toward them in the storm and trying to kill it as quickly as possible.

He didn't notice it getting lighter, but it gradually did, although the storm didn't cease. Visibility got better, and they started to clear a larger radius of orcs. Eventually, the storm turned to rain, just rain. It was still far too dark for his taste, but it was possible to see things without lightning illuminating them. The orcs were scattered around, but could now see them, so they attacked much more recklessly. He took notice of Legolas, Silan, and Koran a couple meters away, relatively unscathed, but didn't really acknowledge it, as he had his own battle to fight.

The group slashed and jabbed and dodged and lunged. Most of them fought with moves that any swords master would shake their head at, but it kept them alive, so it was enough.

The onslaught of orcs slowed, and, eventually, stopped, until a few remained spread between the two groups of three, and they had arrows protruding from their heads soon enough.

Ash soon located the orc who had taken her sword and sheathed the blade sheepishly. She gave the body a nudge with her foot before taking the sword back, as the group had learned on a previous occasion that what appeared to be dead was not always actually dead. " _Mereth en draugrim_ ," she spat at the dead orc.

Kiron sprawled out among the fallen orcs, past the point of caring about the smell. The land around them was littered with rain-soaked orc corpses, the black blood mingling with the rainwater. Some still twitched or cried out, while others lay terribly still. His comrades were all bloody, sweaty, and dripping wet from the storm. He sighed. Orc hunts were not as glamorous as they had imagined them to be when they were younger.

Koran came over with a weary smirk and pulled him to his feet, after Legolas made sure that no one was seriously injured. Eventually, Legolas broke the silence.

"We should keep moving. There may have been others behind them."

The group nodded grimly, and prepared to leave with a chorus of groans and winces as they assessed their battle scars and aching bodies.

It was still raining, but the sun shone through sometimes, and they took what they could get. Koran poked Ash and grinned.

"So I hear you let yourself be disarmed..."

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Y'all got to see a little bit of big brother!Legolas, which I hope is a good thing, and our group also saw some action with orcs, which is always a good thing. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! :)**

 **Translations:**

 ** _Auta miqula orqu -_ Go kiss an orc**

 _ **Mereth en draugrim -**_ **Feast of wolves (slain enemy)**

 **Until the very end,**

 **CarverEdlundtheLast**


	14. Mountains Cold

**A/N: Soooo it's been like forever, and I'm really really sorry, but I did try to warn y'all. I'm sort of getting into the final chapters of the story, but if anyone has any ideas, feel free to share them. :)**

 **As always, thanks so, so much to Jayjay0815 for all the support and the wonderful reviews and to everyone following/favoriting the story. It means a lot!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Middle-earth or any of its inhabitants.**

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

Mountains Cold

The group continued walking, following the river. Two days passed and their cuts healed and bruises faded, and no harm came of their encounter, however none were eager to face orcs again. Far off to the west, the peaks of the misty mountains could be seen, and the group entertained themselves by recalling stories of great battles, hoarded gold, and grim endings that had unfolded there. Legolas sometimes corrected accounts of the story that had been exaggerated over time, but otherwise offered only weary laughter when the quest to reclaim Erebor was brought up.

"But you were there, weren't you? With the elves?" Silan questioned after their requests for his account of the story had been denied for what seemed to them to be the tenth time. "Didn't you see enough to tell their story?"

Legolas surveyed his brother with a contemplative glance. "Many died, and many more lost something precious. Lake-town burned before the dragon fell, and hundreds still perished in the Battle of Five Armies. I saw too much."

His words were enough to sober his younger companions, and they continued walking in a silence that none of them were quite sure how to break.

"So... A couple hours 'till we reach the mountains, yeah?" Aneare asked warily, though she already knew the answer.

Legolas nodded without looking at her. "Yes, if we're not met with any more obstacles."

Ash groaned loudly. "Well, now you've jinxed us!"

"I don't think that's how it works," Kiron laughed.

"Well, I still say that we get to blame whatever goes wrong from here on out on Legolas," Ash stated bluntly.

Silan laughed. "As long as it's not me being blamed for once."

Koran gave him a reassuring pat on the back. "Don't worry, mate; We'll find something to blame you for before the trip's over."

"Brilliant," Silan murmured darkly.

And so they proceeded for the next hour, each step taking more effort as they neared the mountains. Aneare almost favored the orc attack to the ominous mountains. She half expected to see a trail of corpses or blood-stained heart, so something that would signify that a battle was being fought there, but there was nothing.

Nothing tangible, that is, but a shadow seemed to loom over all thoughts of the mountains.

The temperature continued to drop, and the land became more rocky, and the group's spirits sunk lower. Kiron and Ash had attempted to sing an old Elvish duet that was so outdated it was comical, but the attempt had been abandoned upon discovering that neither actually knew the words. Silan and Legolas tried to fill the silence with tales of foreign kings and spoiled chancellors, but there was only so much to be told. Aneare and Koran carried on a nonsensical conversation about the morals behind stealing food, and it was these combined happenings that eventually carried them to the mountains.

There was no definitive gate or entrance to the mountains, but there was a steep slope and a dreadful feeling, and then they were standing at the bottom of thousands of tons of rock.

Koran gulped and glanced upward. "So... is there a secret gate into the mountain or something, because right now I feel like we're just letting history repeat itself, and let me tell you, I have had my fair share of fighting dragons already."

Legolas allowed himself a small smile and he shook his head. "There is a pass through the mountains, not into them."

Ash made a face. "So... is this pass... safe, or...?"

Silan raised an eyebrow. "What do you think?"

"Well, I'd like to think that it's a carefully guarded, well-kept, scenic route, but even I'm not that daft..." Ash deadpanned.

Silan laughed. "Well, you're right that it's carefully guarded, except it's guarded against people like us."

"Who guards it, then?" Aneare asked, startled.

Silan exchanged a glance with Legolas, reluctant to answer. After a bit of a stare-off, it was the older elf that finally relented. "Darkness, I suppose, though none have truly been able to describe it."

Ash sighed. "So, once again, shadows are our problem."

"...Yes."

"That's bloody brilliant! Really, it is," Ash huffed.

Legolas shook his head. "Anger does nothing to help our situation." Ash looked as if she wanted to protest that she was not, in fact, angry, but seemed to think better of it. "For now, all that can be done is for us to be alert and keep our weapons close as we proceed."

The group nodded wearily, weapons already drawn as Legolas led them to a small tunnel leading through the mountains, hesitating once they stood outside of it. Ash and Kiron wandered off to find sticks and pine tar to be used as torches, and returned soon enough with suitable, albeit fragile-looking torches.

"So... can we just... enter?" Koran asked hesitantly.

Legolas nodded with even more hesitance. "Yes, but be warned; there is more than one route leading through, and not all lead to our destination."

Aneare groaned. "So basically, it's a dark and dangerous maze?"

"Yes."

Kiron raised his hand as if he were in class. Legolas looked confusedly at him and nodded, signaling for him to speak. 'Erm... Well... What exactly is our destination? Mithrandir wasn't particularly specific in his instructions."

"In legend, which is what we have to rely on at this point in our journey, the tunnels open into a cavern in the mountains. If the sword is within these mountains, that is where it would be."

Silan sighed. "Well, alright then. I'd say we're ready to enter..."

The group still hesitated. Tunnel opening loomed in front of them ominously, so dark within that even elf eyes couldn't see what lay beyond. Each elf turned one last time to look at the sky, as the sun still flew high in the sky, and took a gulp of the fresh air before they took a cautious step forward.

Ash smirked, but without the spirit normally contained in her smiles. "Well, I'll see you on the other side," she said to the group.

Kiron groaned. "Well, now you're the one jinxing us," he complained.

"Logically speaking, I don't think we can get any more jinxed than we already are," Silan pointed out.

Ash looked triumphant under the dim glow of her torch, as the last natural light faded from view with every step. "So, see you then."

And then they knew darkness.

The ground glowed orange under the firelight cast by their torches, the walls barely illuminated by the warm light. The path wound up and up, seemingly taking them to the top of the mountain. They decided to generally avoid turn-offs that were bathed in shadow, and so followed ever deeper into the ancient stone of the Grey Mountains.

The only noise to be heard was panting from the elves, as they'd been walking up at a steep slop for quite some time. There had already been three faked dramatic deaths from the exertion, and the complaints that had been voiced likely outnumbered the weight of the mountain.

"I'm cold," Koran whined.

Kiron huffed. "Well, I'm sweating."

"I'm tired," Ash panted.

"Yeah, well I'm tired of your whining," Silan complained.

"Well, maybe all of us are tired of your snappy remarks," Aneare voiced.

"Maybe we should all just shut up," Kiron suggested.

They all agreed, and were quiet for a moment.

"I can't see," Ash complained.

Koran threw a shoe at her.

"Okay, but in all seriousness," Aneare started nervously, "Does anyone else sort of feel like the darkness is almost... following us?"

Ash rounded on her. "You had to say it!" She huffed. "We already went over this in Mirkwood; Unless someone is in immediate danger, no one comments on the creepy atmosphere."

"Well, excuse me," Aneare grumbled.

"You don't need to take everything so personally -" Ash began, in a foul temper from dark tunnel.

"Oh, Valar," Koran moaned. "This could be the beginning of the next great war!"

Both Ash and Aneare turned to glare at him. Koran swore quietly and shrunk back a bit.

They proceeded in silence.

 **. . .**

The warm light of the fire seemed very foreign on the cold stone. Rather than the appearance of dancing firelight, it seemed as if the darkness swirled around it, trying to conquer and snuff out the light. The air inside the tunnel was stuffy, and the smoke didn't make it any better, but one of the elflings would be pretending to freeze to death in its absence.

Legolas surveyed them with weary eyes. The foulness of the tunnels already seemed to be affecting all of their moods, as he had already had to break up three fights before he had decided to just let them rest for the night, even if it was a bit early for that. The darkness made it seem later, anyway.

Despite their earlier disagreements, the elflings were all sprawled out nearly on top of each other, but none seemed to mind. They all had their cloaks pulled tight around them, and seemed to be using each other as both pillows and sources of warmth.

In spite of everything, he smiled.

"So darkness has no hold over kinship," he murmured into the darkness with a wry smile.

Although he knew that at least three of the five were still awake from their breathing, he received only grunts in response, as well as a burnt-up torch thrown at his head. Thankfully, whoever threw it wasn't the greatest marksman.

He shook his head and added the stick to the fire with a slight chuckle. It was never wise to come between elflings and sleep, especially when said elflings had been walking uphill through a dark tunnel for half the day.

He sat awake, ears and eyes straining to find any sign of danger. He watched the fire, careful not to let the smoke become too thick nor the flames too high, and after what could have been minutes or hours, realized that only one of the elflings was yet to fall asleep.

"You'll be woken in less than two hours. It would be wise to sleep while you can," he said softly, not wanting to wake the others.

"I can't now," Silan's voice responded, just as softly as his own.

Legolas nodded. "That's understandable."

"You should sleep, too, though. I can take the watch," his brother offered, though he sounded exhausted.

"Why would I trust you to do that?" Legolas said lightly.

He could feel Silan's mock glare piercing through the darkness.

Neither spoke for a few moments.

"I know that everyone keeps warning us that we're not taking this serious enough and that it'll be dangerous and all, but... Do you thank that all of us will even come out of this alive?" Silan asked eventually.

So that was what had been weighing on him. Truly, it had been weighing on all of them, but most had managed to push it to the back of their minds. "I don't know," he answered honestly. "I'd like to be able to tell you that everything will be fine, but I don't know if it will be."

He heard his brother sigh. "That's what I thought."

Legolas felt like he couldn't let the conversation end there, but there wasn't much more to say. He echoed Silan's sigh. "I do know that there are people who will do everything in their power to make sure all of you make it out, myself included."

Silan laughed, "Because it's so reassuring to have a senile Wizard on your side," he pointed out.

"Mithrandir is... different, yes, but much more powerful than you take him to be," Legolas tried to assure him.

"I hope you're right."

 **. . .**

Although there was no sun to wake them, the group all managed to awake at relatively the same time, although they all begged for a few more minutes of sleep.

"Just ten more minutes!" Ash cried, attempting to throw herself back into the nest of cloaks she had made to sleep in.

"Or twenty!" Silan joined in enthusiastically, still on the ground. "Twenty works, too."

There pleads were, of course, denied, and they all sat up and started to gather their things in the darkness with a few grumbles.

Ash cracked her back with a wince. The five others looked over, startled, and were met with a sheepish glance illuminated in the torchlight. To be fair, all of them were quite sore after sleeping on the stone floor of the tunnel that night, and it didn't make getting up any easier.

Koran groaned as he stretched, while Aneare cringed at the cracking noise her neck had made when she glanced up toward the ceiling of the cave.

They heard a faint scream from Aneare and then what sounded to be an arrow being shot at the ceiling of the tunnel.

All of them rushed over, weapons in hand, and tried to cast the light of their torches over whatever Aneare was attempting to fight off.

Aneare herself was just jabbing violently at what appeared, at first glance, to be absolutely nothing. And then she was thrown backwards by said "nothing", and the darkness around them seemed to become more focused and distinct, until a vaguely humanoid shadow loomed above her.

She picked herself up off of the ground and ran back to where the others were now attempting to fight the shadow off, and launched herself at the shape with her sword drawn, only to be met by a cold, dark fist and swatted away.

She cursed.

Ash fired an arrow in the shadow's direction, but it passed through the creature. None of Kiron's spells seemed to be having any effect on the shadow. Silan tried stabbing it, but the blow glanced off it, and Legolas was having no luck with his dagger, having abandoned the idea of firing arrows at it.

When the creature was within the glowing circle made by the torches, it stood out like a solid shadow, but when it left the small circle of light, it melted into the darkness, and could only be recognized as a patch of moving shadow within the blackness of the dark.

The group continued launching attacks, to no avail. Aneare watched in horror as Kiron was pinned to the wall by the creature, who raised an arm to seemingly finish him off.

Several elves lunged forward, but were easily swatter away by the creature with its free hand. Aneare was slammed into the tunnel wall, and she was left gasping for air from the impact. Her vision was blurry, and her balance was so off she almost felt like she was floating when she attempted to stand up.

Kiron writhed in the grip of the creature as it raised its hand again, and a shadow seemed to be cast over him from the gesture. He frantically grabbed at a torch, the only potentially harmful item within his reach, and thrust it toward the creature.

The shadow creature let out a horrible, piercing scream, and all at once seemed to dissolve back into the shadows.

Kiron fell to his knees as Ash and Silan, who had seemingly sustained the least injuries of all of them, rushed toward him.

Some of the color returned to his face as hid friends fussed over him, and Aneare was finally able to stand up, somewhat shakily. She made her way slowly over to where the rest of ht group had congregated to check each other for injuries.

After establishing that Kiron was alright for the time being, Aneare threw herself onto the ground and sprawled out, panting. "What - was that - thing," she choked out.

Legolas, for once looking tired after the battle, just sighed. "That was one of the Dae Rauko. The mountains are full of them."

Ash swore, and Aneare closed her eyes.

So, there were more of them.

Wonderful.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I know that that last battle scene was pretty lame, but keep in mind that there was only one of them right then, so I hope that the future battle scenes are more exciting. ;) I know that at this point I probably sound like a broken record, but reviews are one of the best things in life, so I'd really, really appreciate some... Anyway, thanks!**

 **Until the very end,**

 **CarverEdlundtheLast**


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